"Pert, pithy and very New York; full of the admirable offhand observations of an unfooled eye." Times Literary Supplement
"Nothing to Lose is a book for every person who has ever wanted something that's persisted in staying just out of reach. This is a funny book - both in its unorthodox heroine and in its treatment of a sensitive subject." Newsday
"You will melt over April Taylor, delight in her marvelous friends and fall in love with her prince." Susan Isaacs, author of Compromising Positions, Shining Through
Book Description: A novel of insight and great humor, this is a Cinderella story about the triumphant makeover of the body and spirit of April Taylor, a fat girl from Queens with the right mind but the wrong body. April - 60 lbs. overweight, reeling from a broken marriage wangles a job as a softgoods copywriter in a suburban department store. There she meets Don, the black design manager who is determined to help her. "You're not really breathing," he tells her. "You're holding your breath for the next insult . . . such a waste, such a pretty face." April capitulates and the program begins: the wogging, the jogging, the hip walking and near starvation that will melt her prison of fat.
Nothing to Lose is also about April's fantasy lover, Luis O'Neill. Luis is a half Irish, half Puerto Rican boy from the projects who makes it to Princeton and utilizes his dazzling good looks to become the youngest president in Burdie's history. Set against the backdrop of the outrageous world of advertising and marketing this is a jubilant and satisfying story of risk-taking and love between two worthy survivors.