ATFOURTEEN, I WAS A REGULAR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN CLINTON, MISSISSIPPI, WHEN A MODELING SCOUT TOLD ME: YOU COULD BE A SUPERMODEL . . . BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO LOSE A LITTLE WEIGHT.FOR GLAMOUR, FAME, AND ESCAPE, I LOST SEVENTY POUNDS.This is a photo of me atSIXTEEN, when I signed a big modeling contract, moved to New York City, and started traveling around the world.It is also when I developed a ferocious case of anorexia and exercise bulimia.Until I decided enough was enoughI wanted to live.And so I ate. And ate.Offering a behind-the-scenes peek into the modeling industry, as well as a trenchant look at our weight-obsessed culture,Hungryis an inspiring and cautionary tale that will resonate with anyone who has battled society's small-minded definitions of beauty.This is meNOW, the leading plus-size model in America.

Crystal Renn is the leading plus-size model in America. At twenty-two years of age, she has appeared in four international editions of Vogue; starred in a Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign; served as the final model in Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring pret-a-porter show in a diaphanous, flower-strewn gown that Gaultier designed specifically for her curvaceous figure; was the cover girl on an international edition of Harper's Bazaar; appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, The View and The Oprah Winfrey Show; and has been photographed by Steven Meisel, Ellen von Unwerth, Steven Meisel, Ruven Afanador and Patrick Demarchelier. Renn lives in Brooklyn.

Marjorie Ingall is a columnist for Tablet magazine and has written for Self, Glamour, Food & Wine, and more. She is also the author of Sorry Sorry Sorry, Mamaleh Knows Best, and The Field Guide to North American Males. She lives in New York City and you can follow her on Twitter @MarjorieIngall.