Leith, William

PERSONAL: Son of a psychology professor. Education: Graduated from University of Warwick; attended Cambridge University.

ADDRESSES: Home—Lewes, East Sussex, England. Office—Guardian Unlimited, 119 Farringdon Rd., London EC1R 3ER, England.

CAREER: Observer, London, England, former columnist; Guardian, London, columnist. Has also written columns and stories for other newspapers, including London Independent on Sunday,.

WRITINGS:

The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict, Gotham Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: A popular columnist in England, William Leith has become well known for his articles that often involve personal anecdotes regarding his struggles with drugs, alcohol, and food addictions. For many years, he indulged in everything from marijuana to cocaine to hard liquor, while at the same time becoming more and more overweight. Despite this, he managed to produce entertaining articles for newspapers such as the London Observer and the London Guardian. As his former Observer editor, Tim Adams, related in that newspaper, Leith's stories "were, mostly, survivor's tales, the best of them crafted with wonderful comic reserve out of the persistent anxiety and sporadic wreckage of his life." After a certain point, however, Leith began to realize the consequences of his indulgent lifestyle; his health was declining, his girlfriend left him, and he began to realize that he was miserable.

In an effort to lose weight, Leith sought the help of Dr. Robert Atkins, whose famous diet involved avoiding carbohydrates almost entirely. Leith went on the diet, and lost a considerable amount of weight. His next realization, however, was that he was only treating a symptom to a much-deeper problem. Seeking professional therapy, he came to understand that he was medicating himself with food and other substances as a way to hide from the pain of his childhood, which included emotionally distant parents and constant harassment from other children at school.

Leith relates this background information in his first book, The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict, which also has another, more insidious message. "The cause of most hyperguzzling, according to Leith," reported William Underhill in a Newsweek International review, "is the paradox of materialism. Across the developed world we have been taught to crave a slew of products and experiences that can provide, at best, only temporary satisfaction and feed a hunger for more." The reason for this indoctrination, Leith explains, is that a capitalist economy in times of surplus can only survive by creating an artificial 'need' for products.

Critics of The Hungry Years found Leith's ideas provocative. As Booklist reviewer David Pitt stated, "Readers with an open mind will be amply rewarded by this lighthearted yet thought-provoking book." Although Alfred Hickling, writing in the Guardian, felt the book lacks structure and is close to becoming "no more than an erratic composite of journalistic set pieces," a Publishers Weekly writer attested that The Hungry Years "will undoubtedly have readers asking why they really want that doughnut."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Leith, William, The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict, Gotham Books (New York, NY), 2005.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2005, David Pitt, review of The Hungry Years, p. 1973.

Bookseller, June 17, 2005, review of The Hungry Years, p. 37.

Guardian (London, England), October 15, 2005, Alfred Hickling, "Fat Boy Grim," review of The Hungry Years.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2005, review of The Hungry Years, p. 778.

Library Journal, August 1, 2005, Rachel M. Minkin, review of The Hungry Years, p. 110.

Newsweek International, August 29, 2005, William Underhill, "Plus-Size Problem: An Obese Author Reveals a World of Self-Loathing, Good Intentions, and Mind-Controlling Refrigerator Doors," p. 57.

Observer (London, England), July 31, 2005, Tim Adams, "My Need for Greed," interview with William Leith.

Publishers Weekly, June 20, 2005, review of The Hungry Years, p. 68.

San Francisco Chronicle, September 25, 2005, Dodie Bellamy, "How Hunger Gnaws Away at Our Human Dignity," review of The Hungry Years, p. F3.