My Bicentennial: A Mostly True Tale of the Far-Out '70s

Growing up plump and poor in the 1970s, Massachusetts high school senior Deidre Daly has always been told "thin is in" and she is out.

She can't do anything about being poor, but as the Bicentennial year 1976 begins, Deidre vows to take control of her weight. Surely "getting skinny" will land her a date to the prom and she'll finally fit in with the popular crowd whose lives are as perfect and problem-free as hers is a disaster.

What follows is a frequently funny, often emotional coming of a...