I worked in daily journalism for 28 years, the last 14 of them as an editor at the Boston Globe before accepting a buyout in April 2007. I worked in most subject areas, and wrote even more widely as a freelancer within the organization.

My focus these days is food addiction, whose existence is not accepted by mainstream medicine or popular culture, but which I am recovering from. I had a fat childhood, followed by an obese adolescence that lasted into my early 30s. I've lost more than 600 pounds, by repeatedly gaining it back, but it wasn't until I accepted that I might be an addict, and began the practices and treatments that have been helping alcoholics and other addicts for 75 years, that my life turned around. The weight loss that followed totaled 160 pounds, which has remained off my body, with some variation, for 20 years. The methods I followed —  therapy, eating-disorder rehab, addiction support groups, and spiritual development  — are not part of the nation's "solutions" for this growing problem. (I use quotation marks because, clearly, nothing is being solved.)

"Fat Boy Thin Man" is not a diet book, and I'm definitely not a diet guru; I didn't create any of the methods that led to my turnaround. Other people shared their experiences with me, and now I'm doing the same in a slightly broader way. The book, which is funny, self-deprecating, and entertaining, is also instructive in a couple of important ways: I make clear how others can benefit from the same path, and how public policy and popular understanding could make it much easier to overcome obesity.

At home, meanwhile, the big news is Joseph Fulton Prager, born to his birth mom at Halloween 2009 in Saginaw, Mich. Georgina and I were present for the birth, and he's now a healthy, happy growing boy whose rearing is my full-time job.