This is a book of stories written by the author, a comedian about his experiences growing up fat. The latter third of the book is by Alisa, his sister who is a psychologist. She speaks about Ian’s experiences and how to make changes to your eating habits in order to lose weight.
I am not sure what the marketing strategy is for this book. It is not really a memoir or a self-help book. While I have read some reviews by people who share Ian’s experiences of being fat and found it cathartic, personally I found it rather triggering. I ended up not finishing this book as I saw no point as to its purpose to the reader. Quite disappointed in this one.

The title of the book is what first drew me in, and I'm happy that the rest of the book didn't disappoint.

It's an unfortunate truth that every "chubby" kids understand: you should be ashamed of your body and must cover it at all costs. Except... that isn't the truth. Karmel argues that children should be children, free of the emotional weight placed on them by society.

This book is a shame-free love letter to all the kids who felt the need to wear t-shirts in the public swimming pool.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved reading this book. Ian made me feel seen, while Alisa taught me so much about how my brain has been affected by being fat. This book is the perfect combination of humanity, humor and information. I highly recommend it to everyone with a body -- fat or not -- because it teaches an appreciation for all bodies and the human inside of them.

Comedian Ian Karmel and his sister, psychologist Alisa Karmel explore Ian’s life as a fat person (and then, oddly, Alisa focuses on children.). Both grew up fat. Although Ian has now lost a lot of weight, he says this is not a weight loss book but a support book for people who struggle with weight loss issues. I beg to differ, but whatever.

In fact, this is an angry, depressing story of a self-loathing man who has always be obsessed with food and weight, and still is, even though he’s at a reasonable weight now. It reads like he’s trying to work through some personal problems here when it sounds as if that might be better done with intensive therapy. He places a lot of blame on his parents (which his sister tries to deflect) and he feels strongly that fat is an enemy that is trying to kill him and that must be battled at all times. Two-thirds of the book was all about that. One-third of the book was left to the sister, who mostly seemed to restate what Isn’t had already said, soften it a little and throw in some common sense statistical information that most people would already know. It didn’t really add anything. Reading this book was a bit of a chore and I’m not sure how it could be seen as support for anyone.

The T=Shirt Swim Club is a book jointly written by Ian Karmel and his sister Alisa Karmel. Ian is a comedian. Alisa is a psychotherapist. The first section of the book is written in the style of a memoir by Ian. I absolutely loved this section of the book. It was hilarious. I cannot remember the last time that I read a book and laughed out loud as much as I did reading Ian's section of the book. If I was rating Ian's section of the book only it would easily be 5 stars. Not only was the humor great, but I also enjoyed reading about his own self-acceptance. The book should have stopped there.

Dr. Karmel, Ian's sister wrote the second half of the book, which is partially an analysis of Ian's life, partially a how to manual on how to support those living in larger bodies, and unfortunately guidance on how to lose weight. I was really disappointed that the book concluded with advice on how to lose weight. I was really expecting this to be a book on body acceptance and the last few chapters by Dr. Karmel ruined that.

I highly recommend buying this book, reading the first half and then stopping there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rodale Books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Man this had me busting out laughing right from the dedication.

Yes this is a book about what it’s like to be overweight, but even more so it’s a book about self acceptance and healthy identity formation. Ian Karmel’s clearly done the work of processing his shame and brokenness, and that brought a beautiful self-reflective depth to an also hilarious narrative. The second half of the book is written by his psychologist sister, and dives into the ways our culture stigmatizes fatness and what research says about how we can help children, particularly fat children, form healthy identities. Really good stuff that I hadn’t considered.

4.5 stars because I found myself dragging through the second half—mostly because I think the memoir piece felt crushable, but the research packed, informational tone of the second half was more dense. Felt very much like two separate books, and I think the concept ultimately works, but it caught me a little off guard

Side note for the publisher, the font for Alisa’s section was pretty tiny and felt hard to read on my kindle. I understand the use of different fonts to distinguish each author’s voice, I’d consider a more readable font for Alisa’s section.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book, by siblings Ian and Alisa Karmel, PsyD, is divided into two parts; the first, by Ian, is a comedic memoir about growing up in a fat body. The second, by Alisa, includes elements of the first while approaching the subject from a clinical point of view as well (she is a doctor of psychology with a specialization in making behavioral changes to improve your health). Both siblings are funny and speak from their own lives as well as scientific knowledge of the subject.

The first half of the book relies heavily on Ian's experience as a standup comedian and writer to keep the subject light and funny even when the subject matter is difficult (he admits to using humor to mask his insecurities) It's entertaining and relatable, though it can be triggering for those who have dealt with weight issues. The second half is understandably drier, as it relies on Alisa's clinical training and offers a medical perspective on how best to help fat patients.

I don't think the book necessarily breaks the mold on the information it's conveying, and as a reading experience, momentum definitely slows down in the second half, but it's well done.

I had really mixed feelings about this book. A lot of the first half was very funny, and there was a lot of good information in the second half. However, there were also times when I felt like I'd been tricked into reading a weight loss book. Although they do talk about things like fat stigma, there was also a lot of talk about weight loss methods and how to lose weight. So just be forewarned before reading that there is a lot of discussion of those things.

This was a funny, relatable book about being overweight and all the awkwardness that goes along with it. Ian Karmel explores how his weight impacted everything from his fashion sense, to his successful career as a comedian, and everything in between. There are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments and absolutely nothing is off limits in his commentary.
The one thing that I didn’t like, however, was that some of the writing tended to be repetitive and drawn out, which works great when you are performing a humorous piece, but doesn’t work as well in long form writing, like a novel. There were times I skimmed the longer, repetitive paragraphs.

T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People by Ian Karmel and Alisa Karmel (PsyD) takes an unusual approach to exploring fatness and the effects of fatphobia in American society, as it’s kind of two books in one. The first section is a memoir written by stand-up comedian Ian Karmel about his experiences growing up fat, living as a fat person, and adopting healthier habits in the face of health concerns. The second section is a crash course in the current social science of fatness and fatphobia written by his sister Alisa Karmel, a Doctor of Psychology.

Ian’s section reads like a one-man podcast; he adopts a breathless, casual tone and peppers his remarks with a plethora of pop-culture references and jokes (some of which land, some of which don’t). Reading it feels like listening to a friend talk without a filter about his experiences, and the effect is an entertaining and refreshingly honest reflection on fatness, health, and fatphobia. In between the quips and anecdotes, Karmel makes powerful and emotionally impactful observations about his life and the perniciousness of fatphobia in American society. He brings a balanced and personal perspective to the polemic topic of fatness and health—something that is sorely lacking in many social media discourses. That said, he admits that decades of internalized fatphobia and a dysfunctional relationship with food still color his thoughts, and this much is clear within his writing. He expresses his fraught opinions on body positivity, frequently places value judgments on foods, and discusses his regimen for weight loss and maintenance. For this reason, I would strongly suggest that anyone struggling with an eating disorder approach this work with great caution.

Alisa’s section reiterates many of the sentiments Ian expresses but in a much more academic tone. On the one hand, the book benefits from her perspective because she balances out some of Ian’s emotionally raw and personal sentiments with scientific expertise that might be of more benefit to fat people struggling with their self-esteem and mental health. On the other hand, the two sections of the book do not mesh well. Alisa’s contribution sometimes comes across as a dryer reiteration of Ian’s portion, and it is difficult to imagine an audience for the book that would enjoy each part in equal measure. The book would work better as a cohesive whole if Alisa’s points were abbreviated and placed as footnotes to Ian’s memoir, with further resources for research listed toward the end.

One small additional quibble: The University of Wisconsin mascot is a Badger, not a Husky!

TL;DR: Ian’s section of the book provides an honest, insightful, and accessible—yet occasionally messy—discussion of his experiences and thoughts on fatness, fatphobia, and health. Alisa’s section can be treated as optional reading for those looking for a social science perspective on the topics Ian addresses.

Loved this book. It was a real and honest look at life in a different body. The author was honest and open in her writing. Defiantly a great story.

I requested this book because I felt it was something I could relate too- and it absolutely was. I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book.....and then it abruptly changed into a psychology and stat book which I tried to read, but couldn’t get through the entire thing. I wish the book continued along with Ian and his experiences as this is what I was expecting it all to be. I feel like his part of the story was unfinished and the remainder was not what I wanted to continue reading.

Frankly, I wasn’t a big fan of this book. Although the author clearly knows how it feels to be overweight in a thin world, the book became repetitive for me. The author was very well able to get across to his readers, how it feels, and how deeply he understands the problems associated with being overweight. This is a good read, but I felt that there were parts that were redundant, and I did not finish the book. That being said, it’s worth a start. If you have issues with your weight, you will realize that you’re not alone, when reading this authors words.

Ian and Dr. Alisa have worked together to create a really sweet book on the life and times of fat people. As another lifelong member of the tee-shirt swim club, this book isn't meant for us. It's meant for our friends and family.

It starts with Ian telling us the life story of his fat journey and this thoughts throughout. This portion of the book is actually very funny and it's nice to hear about another fat life. He then goes into his thought process of deciding to lose weight, the general idea of how he lost weight and after he lost the weight. Truly nothing fat people haven't heard before.

After we get through the memoir stage, Dr Alisa comes in with the knowledge and facts. She provides all the proof that treating fat people like actual people is good for everyone.

Again this book will be great for the countless humans that are newly fat, or those with fat friends and family but lifelong ms of the club may not enjoy this as much.

This author is so funny and relatable - a great combination. The content is something every single overweight person (whether they are currently or were previously overweight) can relate to and has first hand experienced (unfortunately). It's nice to know we're not alone in the sad, hard, demoralizing life of fat person in a world that praises thin.

What a great book. Very informative.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I was really looking forward to reading this and the first I'd say, quarter to half is really good, I really understood the author and the humor since he's a comedian really brought it all to life. I was expecting something like Fortune Feimester level of humor, especially since he mentioned he worked with Chelsea Handler, just like Fortune. But instead of feeling a little good about myself that others have gone through this, it had the opposite effect. I totally got his topics on doctors, etc. and he's right on the money but it just went on and on. Thanks for the opportunity to read the book!

The first half of the book was a great memoir of life as a fat kid with some Hollywood bits mixed in. The second half was kind of odd though and just a strange organization to the book: his sister takes over and it is more a parenting guide with research. Not applicable and didn’t really see a connection to the title with that part.

A very relatable book that was eye opening and authentic. I thought it expressed opinions with authenticity. I understood so much of what this brother - sister duo wrote. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Brave words that will resonate with many.