"Deeply moving and memorable." --Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and Hunger"First-time novelist Rohan shows impressive acuity in portraying the many facets of Billy\'s and his family\'s grief." --Booklist At four hundred pounds, Billy Brennan can always count on food.
Set in rural, contemporary Ireland, Ethel Rohan\'s The Weight of Him is an unforgettable, big-hearted novel about loss and reliance that moves from tragedy to recrimination to what can be achieved when we take the stand of our lives..
But it is only if Billy can confront the truth of his pain, suffering, and the brokenness around him, that he and others will be able to realize the full rescue and change they need.
Despite his crushing detractors, Billy gains welcome allies: his community-at-large; a co-worker who lost his father to suicide; a filmmaker with his own dubious agenda; and a secret, miniature kingdom that Billy populates with the sub-quality dolls and soldiers he rescues from disposal at the local toy factory where he works.
However, Billy\'s dramatic crusade appalls his family, who want to simply try to go on.
Billy determines to make a difference in Michael\'s memory and undertakes a public weight-loss campaign, to raise money for suicide prevention--his first step in an ambitious plan to save himself, and to save others.
Food has always made everything better, until the day Billy\'s beloved son Michael takes his own life.
How food keeps his mind still and his bad feelings quiet.
The way flavors go off in his mouth.
From his earliest memories, he has loved food\'s colors, textures and tastes. "Deeply moving and memorable." --Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and Hunger"First-time novelist Rohan shows impressive acuity in portraying the many facets of Billy\'s and his family\'s grief." --Booklist At four hundred pounds, Billy Brennan can always count on food
