Cover Photo: Photograph by Milada Vigerova/Unsplash
Photograph by Milada Vigerova/Unsplash

God Wants You to Be Thin (and Other Lies the Evangelical Church Taught Me)

I believed I had been nurtured, like a lamb, for one purpose: Mine was to be thin.

Content warnings for this essay include references to: dieting, anti-fatness, and eating disorders.

Julia Sonenshein is a forever Californian living in New York City. Her writing has appeared in MarieClaire.com, Elle.com, and Politico Magazine, among others. She is at work on her debut novel.