Swimming with the Fat Ladies

Don't let its title, Swimming with the Fat Ladies, mislead you. Penned by Debbie Theiss, whose clever tone mirrors humorist Erma Bombeck's, this chapbook shares humor, ironies, fears, and joys of becoming a female senior citizen. In contrast to fat's negative image, Theiss shows it as a positive adjective. In her Foreword, she defines the term as "the best or richest part; superfluity; substantial and impressive, . . ." (The Foreword also details a hilarious scene of a swimsuit fitting.) Then, Theiss dances the reader through poems to which most seniors can relate, such as: "Hip Replacement," "Office Visit" (with a mammogram), "Family Heirloom," wherein she must "wrestle the jam-packed drawer open," and "I Refuse to Go Digital" (about battles with the scale). Along with sharing funny aspects of aging this chapbook still exposes its challenges. Whether thin or not, female septuagenarians would do well by reading it.

-Lindsey Martin-Bowen, author, The Book of Frenzies

In Swimming With the Fat Ladies, Debbie Theiss invites readers to join her in discovering the superabundance within each of us. Playful, poignant, and powerful, her multilayered poetry is both personal and eminently relatable. I accepted her invitation, dove in, and what a delightful swim it was! From hot flashes and hearing aids to heirlooms and heroes, Theiss's poems speak of friendship, laughter, love, and loss.

-Judy Hyde, author, Heartland Writers for Kids & Teens

Theiss's poetry takes us on a life-changing journey. She has an uncanny ability to memorialize meaningful moments, so that we see and feel them as our very own. A farting mom, a departing son, a judgmental daughter, a circle of old friends, a worry about gray ends -these are but a few of the enticing topics she covers in her riveting collection. Her vivid descriptions hold a mirror out to the reader, reflecting our own personal experiences. How well she knows loss and the perils and promises of aging! Yet, how brilliantly she sneaks in humor, wonder, outrage, insights, and celebrations. Plunge in and emerge emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually enriched.

-Deborah Shouse, author, An Old Woman Walks Into a Bar