Literary Nonfiction. Essays. Women’s Studies. With a foreword by Vivian Mayer. SHADOW ON A TIGHTROPE is a collection of articles, personal stories, and poems by fat women, about their lives and the fat- hating society in which they live. Topics include: exposing the myths concerning fat; what it’s like to grow up fat; a description of the medical crimes committed against fat women; stories of the daily hassles, verbal and physical harassment in the lives of fat women; inaccessibility to clothing, jobs, and public places for exercise and sports; effects on the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual selves of fat women living in a society that hates them, and how they have learned to survive. This anthology also collects material previously distributed separately by Fat Liberator Publications, plus many new writings solicited over the past two years from women all around the country.