I'm MSNBC's Ali Valshi.

Welcome to the Velshi Band Book Club.

On a past episode of the Velshi Band Book Club, I said literature can function as a mirror

unto yourself or as a window into another life.

Today's meeting is a window.

We're opening the covers of two critically acclaimed memoirs, Hunger, a memoir of my body by Roxanne Gay

and the Glass Castle by Jeanette Wals.

The windows you'll look through when you pick up these books are

different, but what they share is bravery. It takes courage to share the worst moments of your

childhood and the darkest thoughts you've had about yourself. It takes bravery to tell your story

in the way it really happened. These two memoirs exist in a tradition

that began well before the written word did. Storytelling as a warning, as a lesson, and as an

explanation. Behind the personal, intimate, and specific moments that make up a life, there is power. I will warn

listeners, though, that means confronting subject matter some might find difficult, including

sexual assault and rape. If you're not ready yet, these books will be waiting for you. Let's begin with Roxanne Gay and her story.

Hunger, a memoir of my body by Roxanne Gay, is an uncompromising and intimate look

and what it looks like to live in America in a body that is viewed by society as unacceptable.

Quote, when you're overweight, your body becomes a matter of public record in many respects.

Your body is constantly and prominently on display.

People project assumed narratives onto your body and are not at all interested in the

truth of your body, whatever that truth might be.

Fat, much like skin color, is something you cannot hide, no matter how dark the clothing you wear,

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