Carla Sosenko’s I'll Look So Hot in a Coffin is an unflinchingly honest, darkly funny, and deeply relatable memoir about living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, disordered eating, and the ever-present fear of not being “enough.” With razor-sharp wit and heartbreaking vulnerability, Sosenko takes readers through her lifelong battle with perfectionism—one that manifests in calorie counting, obsessive rituals, and a relentless pursuit of control.

What makes this memoir stand out is Sosenko’s ability to balance raw emotion with humor. She doesn’t shy away from the ugly truths of living with OCD and an eating disorder, but she also infuses her storytelling with the kind of self-deprecating humor that makes you laugh even as your heart aches. Her writing is compulsively readable (pun intended), making it easy to devour while also sitting with the weight of her experiences.

This book is for anyone who has ever struggled with anxiety, body image, or the exhausting pressure to be perfect. It’s also for readers who appreciate memoirs that don’t just tell a story but invite you into the author’s mind, messiness and all. Sosenko’s honesty is a reminder that healing isn’t linear, and self-acceptance is an ongoing process.

This memoir was outstanding. It brought humor along with the deep reflection. I will definitely recommend this to others.

In this comedically open memoir Carla Sosenko shares her experiences of living in a different body and what that has done to her self image. She also recalls how her image impacts her mental health and navigating relationships. It’s ultimately a memoir on bodily autonomy, as Sosenko recalls memories when she had none. Starting as early as 8 years old, getting liposuction for a rare vascular disorder she was born with. She discusses her lifelong feud with diet culture as a means to make herself smaller and more palatable. Sosenko’s privilege is also meditated on often in this memoir. She knows she’s different, but often feels she’s not apart of the disability community because she’s more able bodied than most. She knows she’s skinny fat, but has lived her life in a bigger body knowing the loneliness that comes with fatness. She knows she has pretty privilege and is a fair skinned Jewish woman. Her privilege is in the forefront of her mind as she tries to reclaim her autonomy.

I liked pieces of this memoir, the diet culture aspects being so normalized as a young girl is something I could relate to. I did definitely think this was going to be a bit more disability justice based than it was, and there are a lot of snippets of it sprinkled throughout that I appreciate. I did enjoy the journey of watching Carla getting to the pieces of body joy she does achieve. I loved her candor and humor and frankness she approaches these topics with and think it will resonate with a lot of audiences.

Thank you Random House and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. And thank you Carla for your honesty.

If you've ever felt like a square peg in a round hole, please read this book. This is the perfect read for those who just need to know they are not the only person in the world who feels so out of place and haunted by something they cannot control.

Thank you for letting me read this early. I will absolutely be grabbing a copy!

A fun memoir from Carla Sosenko that explores her lived experience of being born with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome. Born with K-T Carla has always lived in a body that does not conform to societies expectations of "normal."

I enjoyed this book, it was an interesting perspective on the conversations many people are having around beauty standards, disability rights, and Carla's distinct voice connected her experiences to these important conversations in a humane and thoughtful way.

There were some moments in the book that felt a little like reading a buzzfeed listicle but overall I thought the memoir flowed nicely for the reader. I think this is a good first book if you've never thought about these issues before and are interested in learning more about things like disability rights, the fat acceptance movement, or what it's like to navigate the world in a different body.

To start my review, I'd like to send a big, big thank you to the author, Carla Sosenko, Random House Publishing (Dial Press), and NetGalley for the privilege of being able to read an advanced digital copy of I'll Look So Hot in a Coffin by Carla Sosenko. I will share my review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

I’ll Look So Hot in a Coffin is a super personal and vulnerable, but really funny memoir that explores the author's life with a syndrome that causes vascular defects and physical differences. Those differences and the variety of stigmas she has faced played a huge part in shaping her own self-image and relationships. This memoir is Sosenko's way of grappling with what she's learned, and the messy work of breaking those beliefs down to their bare parts in order to pull out what really serves you. Sosenko's physical differences and the resulting social fallout are extreme examples of what really all women go through in varying degrees: beauty and body expectations, fatphobia, pretty privilege, classism, ableism, diet culture, etc.) I'm thankful to be able to take a peek into Sosenko's perspective, because she really forced me to confront some of my own ideas about myself and my body and how it fits into the world.

The essays within this book take on different aspects of her life with candor and humor, which made this super readable and engaging. I felt like I was listening to a friend rant after she had taken time to think deeply about something, and I was nodding and agreeing with her throughout. I really appreciated the perspective of neurodivergence on these things, because those of us with pattern-seeking brains can be pretty good at pointing out things that others seem to take for granted. While facing the pain of being judged for her perceived inability to live up to a societal standard for feminity, she refuses to let those things define her or her life, and continues to work on facing hers and others' faults with honesty and empathy. That is something I think we can all appreciate, connect with, and strive to do as well.

I will separately point out that I thought one of the best things about this book was Sosenko's sense of humor. She had me laughing out loud several times and thinking about passages long after reading. Even though these kinds of memoirs can be kind of heavy and harder to get through, her ability to make everything feel absurd in its way kept me thinking that I can do a better job at laughing at myself as well. I particularly thought her reflections on more current options for weight loss like Ozempic. I thought her points and perspectives all around were really thought-provoking, powerful, and definitely worth a read. She reminded me that my body is not something that I have to change in order to be good enough, but that my body is good enough to do the work it can do. I think that's a pretty powerful message that anyone can heed when looking forward into the future and how they can impact their communities.

I'd recommend I'll Look So Hot in a Coffin to anyone who likes other essay-based nonfiction like Roxane Gay's or Lindy West's work.
Would probably be best appreciated by young adults or older.

Major Tropes and Themes:
- body image, diet culture, beauty standards, feminitity
-disability, physical differences & stigma
-mental health and anxiety/ADHD
-politics, society, and patriarchy

4 out of 5 stars!

I really enjoyed this book! I only know about this book because the publisher reached out to me and offered me an eARC and I'm so happy they did!

This book is honest and so relatable. I felt myself highlighting so much in each topic because thoughts about your body are ever present as a woman.

I recommend anyone and everyone read this! The honesty and the humor will stick with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC!

This book is so special. Carla writes from the perspective of the every-woman, picking apart the things that make her body special and unique under the pressures put on women from the beauty and Hollywood industries. In the day and age of all sorts of things that can change your body, how are you supposed to love yourself? This author and this book are wonderful and impactful. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press for a copy of this book for an honest review.

While there have been several books that talk about weight and body dysmorphia, this is one of the few that does it with such candor and humor. I appreciated the honesty about how her parents tried to change her "for her own happiness" and how something like that had permeating repercussions for the rest of her life. Highly recommend.

The cover and the title drew me, and it's always a nice treat when the writing is as enticing. Carla Sosenko's "I'll Look So Hot in a Coffin" was fun from beginning to end and provides great insight into how one thing (Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome for Carla) can have a ripple effect on everything in your life.

Carla Sosenko was diagnosed with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome at a young age which resulted in physical deformities including in a hump of fat on her back, legs of different lengths and dimensions, port wine staining on the skin and other medical problems internally and externally.

In this brutally honest, vulnerable, and funny memoir, Carla speaks about the struggles she has encountered having a physical deformity while living in a society where your outward appearance determines your value. At times truly heartbreaking; Carla’s message of resilience, hope, and acceptance is one I will take with me always.

Carla discusses the dangers of diet culture and negative body image stigma purported by our society.

Carla is so relatable, every woman needs to read this book. In fact, every person needs to read this book and if it doesn’t resonate with you, then you need to check your privilege.

A talented writer, Carla Sosenko, shares her deep personal experiences with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) – something many of us have never heard of before.

She calls it a cosmetic disorder as it gives the body an unusual appearance starting at birth. She has varicose veins, one foot that is larger and extra fat in some areas of her body. She has had plenty of painful surgeries and years of therapy.

From a young age, she has struggled to fit into social situations in a country where people expect women to be thin and pretty (even though she is). As an adult, she has been on a series of diets and taken different drugs to help with her anxieties. It’s fascinating as she shares her relationships with her parents, boyfriends, doctors and therapists.

There is one area that she left out for the most part: her career. While she has been successful as a freelance journalist in NYC, I wish she included more about it. I admire her for educating readers with what she has endured and I hope those that have this rare genetic defect are able to find support groups.

My thanks to The Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 6, 2025.

This book made me cry in my favorite coffee shop, but it's fine. I'll be back. They know me so they should be used to a few tears by now.

Sometimes a book finds you when it's meant to. I thought I'd relate to Sosenko's story, and I was right, but often in ways I didn't expect. Even if you don't see yourself in these pages, Carla is intelligent and entertaining, and I flew through this book even as it made me reflect, albeit uncomfortably, to my own circumstances.

Fine, Carla. I'll swim*.

*iykyk

I am so glad narratives like this which look closely and deeply at chronic illness and the biomedical industrial complex are now being written. Especially by women. Sosensko's new book (love the title!) is an important addition to this growing and important body of work.

What a raw and honest memoir by Carla Sosenko. I felt like I was sitting front row to her life and I feel honored to experience it from this POV.

For all who have felt the sting of society's judgement, we salute you, Carla Sosenko! Carla Sosenko's book is well-written and relatable to most every woman. Though she speaks from a unique perspective, having had to deal with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, she echoes the truth that all women have impossible, superficial expectations put on us. Thank you for an enlightening perspective about what nonsense these unrealistic expectations are. The diet plans, the plastic surgeries - all part of the endless loop of what we are told we need in order to belong. We all want love and acceptance. As mom to three daughters, the author's wisdom is profound to me. For every person who has felt out of step with the mainstream, this book will speak to you. Carla Sosenko's book illustrates that working on developing your mind will help you can get skilled at ignoring your critics. It also helps to put into perspective those who don't appreciate what's uniquely beautiful and fun about us - they missed out on our singular magic! Carla Sosenko's successes and humor show how to do this. We need to love and accept our bodies. As she observes, age helps, and so does finding your people. I love her shout out to the sisterhood. Not everyone who is a member of our club is loyal to it. We need each other. Carla Sosenko's encouragement and example mean so much. I especially appreciate her observations about "body commenters'! A running critique of everyone one sees is a toxic habit that many people chronically indulge in.. It is also a sure sign of an insecure bully! We don't need more toxic cruelty in this world. My wish is that every mother of boys would ask her sons to read this! Thank you for your honesty.

This book offers readers an intimate, front-row experience of the author's life, inviting us to navigate her journey with curiosity. The narrative evokes emotions—from moments that might make us cringe to instances that tug at our heartstrings or even stir feelings of outrage. The author's storytelling is imbued with wit and, at times, a palpable anger, which is understandable given the contexts she explores. Occasionally, the prose adopts a preachy tone, prompting reflection and, perhaps, debate.

While certain sections of the book may spark discussions or even disagreements, it's important to emphasize the limited representation that specific communities receive in mainstream media. In this light, the author's contribution is both significant and commendable. Her humor, self-awareness, and overall attitude shine through, painting a picture of someone many would cherish as a friend.

This book serves as a unique portal into diverse lived experiences. It will likely resonate with readers who are genuinely curious about others and want to broaden their understanding of perspectives different from their own.

Carla Sosenko wrote a raw and honest memoir about her and life and struggles she’s overcome. I think this novel can help many people understand why we feel the way about it our bodies for whatever reason and how we too can learn to de the good in them.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I think perhaps I wasn’t quite the right audience for this as while I really enjoyed the feminist themes, some of the references didn’t quite hit for me and at times it felt repetitive.

“An intimate, irreverent memoir about one woman’s experience living with a deformity, and her quest to find freedom and joy in her body.” - GoodReads

Carla Sosenko was born with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, a rare vascular disorder and she takes us through the memory lane of growing up as a child having to deal with the superficial nuances before she could fully comprehend the idea of being self-conscious. During her adolescent years we see her being reliant on her parents and diet culture paired with constant mental breakdowns and instability being a constant companion well into her early adulthood. We also see Carla begin to outwardly & unabashedly express herself in the (expensive) world of fashion and getting her unfiltered experiences and the harsh realities of these kinds of trickle down effects but also, in her case, the admittance of having safety nets.

She has so much wisdom and humor through everything and it genuinely filled me with so much hope for young me who struggled with my weight wearing the hoodies and unflattering clothing up until my senior year of high school. Even now into my early 20’s I find it difficult to not wear the oversized hoodie, but I’m working on it. This helped give me a new perspective.

This is my first memoir, so I was unaware of just how casual and inviting this style of writing can be and it’s become one of my favorite forms of storytelling. I’ve highlighted quite a bit of quotes towards the last quarter of the book because it was just so motivational and something I needed to hear that I almost bawled my eyes out on the plane amongst strangers. I came into this book thinking it’d be a thriller and came out motivated to do more with my life and the limited time I have on this planet and to WEAR THE DA*N SKIRT!!!!

Here are my two favorite quotes (it was so hard to choose from but I will be using these as my pep talks when I just need that extra pizzazz):

“Turns out there’s nothing particularly good about being easy or good. I would rather be good to myself. I would rather be a little selfish in the purest sense of that word. I would rather not go missing to me while in the pursuit of making myself easily found by others. In fact, I want to be harder to find.”

“If my body is part of it, it is just that: part. Assuming the most obvious answer to be the right one- my body is responsible for my anxiety- is a child’s way of understanding mental health. It lacks depth… I am all of those things. I am none of those things. The Full picture of my anxiety is much more complex.”

Mental health in general is something that I struggle with, coming from a family who didn’t believe in depression being a thing even well after I was diagnosed. It just wasn’t handled with the care that it is today and she notes that going to therapy and her diagnosis with ADHD and the struggles that that alone comes with and just learning to say no/I don’t want to when it comes to doing things. Ahhh, there’s just so much packed into this story that if you’re in a comfortable headspace to read about certain topics revolving struggles with weight and mental health I say give this a try.