In the waning days of 1998, Tessa Elizabeth Alexander yearns for more than the safety of her mundane life. She's been fat since she was a little girl, and has grown up knowing how the world views her because of it. She's always craved thinness - who hasn't - but she also craves love and affection, two things she's gotten very little of in her nearly 23 years. It's hard not to think the two are related, that thinness is required if she's ever to find her person. 

Determined to "be bold" for once in her life, Tessa embarks on a journey of self-exploration. Writing about her adventures in sexual experimentation, love, therapy, and friendship, Tessa finds herself immersed in a world of colorful characters who challenge many of her preconceived notions, including those about herself. 

Can Tessa learn that acceptance is possible without shrinking herself? Will she find love? Read along in her diary as she traverses young adulthood's twisty roads to find who she is, really, once and for all.