We’re big fans of the blog Formerly Hot – and now our jealousy knows no bounds as it’s a BOOK! My Formerly  Hot Life: Dispatches from Just the Other Side of Young by the witty Stephanie Dolgoff hits the shelves this week. We got an advance copy from the publisher.

When we first got turned on to Formerly Hot it inspired our own inner journey of self discov..poop what were we saying? Oh yeah. We go into the spirit of the thing  and revealed that we were  Formerly in the Cast of Glee.

Dolgoff’s book  My Formerly Hot Life: Dispatches from Just the Other Side of Young is like Eat Pray Love for people who can’t go on a year long “finding yourself” journey to cool places. Dolgoff explores with tongue-in-cheek the transition from young to not quite old.  If you remember that there once was a Berlin Wall and also can’t figure out how Ace of Bace was ever popular you’re going to laugh. (Drawing info after the jump).

Chapter 9 will resonate with many of our fellow dieters out there. The Big Metabolic F*** You, or TBMFU, addresses the issue of being Formerly Thin. There’s no denying that as we age we have to do more and more just to maintain the weight we’ve always been unhappy with. It was comforting to find that nature is in fact flipping the bird at every woman in their forties. Not just us.  

Dolgoff’s observations on buying a bathing suit are  like looking in a mirror. We are no longer the lone voice against the Tankini. Here’s a snippet…

“Do the swimsuit manufacturers want to gradually get us used to the idea that our two-piece days are ending, and so the tankini as some kind of a step-down system?”   Stephanie Dolgoff, My Formerly Hot Life

The book is getting a bit of backlash right now because who knows, maybe a woman can’t lament about her looks without getting backlash. But Formerly Hot  isn’t all that different than the wildly successful Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Both books are about women in their late thirties coming to terms with life.

In Eat Pray Love Author Elizabeth Gilbert spent one whole year alone in exotic locations with gurus and stuff. The book is her quest to find out what the hell is up with carbohydrates, god, and relationships.  It is so successful that now Julia Roberts plays Gilbert in the movie.

 But here’s the thing.  Most woman can’t indulge in a year long journey of self discovery. Most women are like Dolgoff, navigating aging and the meaning of life while knee deep in Legos and permission slips.  If Eat Pray Love is the inner journey of a woman going through major transitions My Formerly Hot Life  is the outer journey of a woman at that the same point in life. Yes we’re concerned about our souls ‘n junk, our purpose in the universe, and being in the moment but we’re also concerned about the amount of time plucking stuff is suddenly taking. 

Stephanie Dolgoff  understands that “hotness” isn’t the same as as searching for “the meaning of life.” She treats hotness with a light touch. So go find your guru with Eat Pray Love and then have a little My Formerly Hot Life for dessert. The two books are nice companions to one another.

So since we’re now all inner peace-y and not jealous we can say with authority that it is a funny and thoughtful book. We’ve put aside our envy that Dolgoff has absconded with our dream career (successful blogger, turned author, blah blah blah) But wait – there’s more!

If you’d like a copy we’ve got three to give away. Drop us a comment on what formerly are you? We’ll draw three winners. 

OH and here’s probably the other reason people are getting all mad over this book. Take a look at Stephanie, she’s so not Formerly Hot. She’s Currently Hot.