Hunger by Roxane Gay Summary
Overview of Hunger
Roxane Gay's memoir "Hunger" confronts fatphobia and trauma through her unflinching exploration of living in a larger body. This New York Times bestseller sparked vital conversations about body image, with Ijeoma Oluo praising its revolutionary centering of Black women's experiences. What truths about your own body might it reveal?
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Key takeaways
When Safety Means Becoming Invisible
What happens when your body becomes the enemy? At twelve years old, in an abandoned hunting cabin, a girl named Roxane was gang-raped by a boy she thought loved her and his friends. They held her down, took turns, laughed at her pleas to stop, and spat on her. She pushed her bike home afterward and pretended to be the good girl her parents knew. At school, the boys spread their version-she was labeled a slut. She kept the truth secret, understanding her version would never matter. Those boys treated her like nothing, so she became nothing. Her story cleaved into two parts: before and after. Before the rape, and after. Before she gained weight, and after. The young girl who once wore overalls with complicated fastenings that made her feel safe, who wrote stories where she could be anything, disappeared. In her place emerged someone broken, shattered, and silent-carrying shame she couldn't share, feeling disgusting for allowing disgusting things to be done to her. The only saving grace was her family's frequent moves. That summer, they relocated to a new state where she could reclaim her name, though no one knew her as "the girl in the woods." She remained friendless and isolated, haunted by voices that wouldn't leave.
Building Walls from Flesh and Food
The Body as Public Property
The Seventy-Billion-Dollar Lie
Hunger Without Being Hungry
Erasure and Intimacy
Tearing Down the Fortress
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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