Controversial Vogue Essay Sparks Book Deal

By Jason Boog 

Vogue writer Dara-Lynn Weiss has scored a book deal with Random House’s Ballantine imprint for a controversial memoir about helping her seven-year-old daughter lose weight. The deal sprang from an April Vogue piece that the Jezebel has dubbed “The Worst Vogue Article Ever.”

What do you think? Here is an excerpt from the essay: “I cringe when I recall the many times I had it out with Bea over a snack given to her by a friend’s parent or caregiver … rather than direct my irritation at the grown-up, I often derided Bea for not refusing the inappropriate snack. And there have been many awkward moments at parties, when Bea has wanted to eat, say, both cookies and cake, and I’ve engaged in a heated public discussion about why she can’t.”

The new book has the tentative title, The Heavy. David Kuhn from Kuhn Projects negotiated the deal with Marnie Cochran. The publisher described the book as “an experience that epitomizes the modern parenting ‘damned if you do/damned if you don’t’ predicament.”