LEA HOPE BECKER 

“The Husband Who Kept His Wife Fat” captures the drama of one woman’s fight to solve her weight swing problems with humor and empathy. Why does 64-year-old Loretta Aronson blame her entrepreneur husband Humphrey for her “yo-yo” dieting problems? Why would any husband want to keep his wife fat? Did Humphrey harbor a subconscious fear that if she were too attractive, she might leave him? Does he even concern himself about her weight swings or chalk it all up to her heredity and carelessness? He doesn’t seem to be the type of man who simply prefers overweight women. Instead, his dominating hold on Loretta’s daily routine has somehow triggered her emotional response by resuscitating her childhood pattern of overeating. In the first chapter Loretta admits that she takes out her anger on her favorite foods, such as a cheeseburger with fries. The story evolves as she seeks solutions, some of which are off-the-wall laughable, and others quite familiar to those who have suffered no-win adventures in dieting.