Comedian Ian Karmel Comes to Terms with His Inner Fat Kid

When you’ve been a fat kid, a little bit of that fat kid stays with you, no matter if you stay fat or not. But how to cope with that? Well, that’s exactly what comedian Ian Karmel and his sister, Alisa Karmel, PsyD, aim to tackle in their poignant memoir T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories From Being Fat in a World of Thin People (June 11). “I’ve seen so often that people’s representation with fat was either as a punchline or as an object of pity. And I hated that we were either Cartman [from South Park] or the whale,” Ian says. The two write about growing up fat and not addressing it. Eventually Ian’s weight would reach 420 pounds when he decided to lose the weight, but not his humor. “I had two goals in writing my part of this book, which was to be as honest and as vulnerable as possible and even harsh on myself. And be clear about my opinions and my feelings and what I went through. I was like, if I’m gonna get my story out here, and help my sister get her story out there and her professional opinions too, I’m gonna have to do it through being funny.” For more on the book, visit https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/723034/t-shirt-swim-club-by-ian-karmel-and-alisa-karmel-psyd/ Visit Newsweek.com to learn more about the podcasts we offer and to catch up on the latest news. While you’re there, subscribe to Newsweek’s ‘For the Culture newsletter. Follow H. Alan Scott on everything at @HAlanScott. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.