MY FOOTPRINT: CARRYING THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD by Jeff Garlin (Simon & Schuster), 244 pages, $30 cloth. Rating: NNN
Don’t be put off by the front cover of My Footprint. Stand-up comedian Jeff Garlin is pictured running on a treadmill somewhere in a forest, smiling confidently in his red track suit. It makes you think the book is another self-help “If I can do it, you can too!” diary about losing weight and going green.
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Garlin – co-star of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm – does write down every thought in a memoir spanning the production of the show’s seventh season. But his voice is likeable, honest, funny and never sanctimonious.
Garlin begins by admitting that he’s overweight and unhealthy. Like a charmingly chunky Jacob Two-Two, he orders two of everything and drives everywhere, rarely walks and never bikes. Looking at his growing waistline, he decides to go cold turkey.
But My Footprint isn’t just a celebrity weight loss adventure. A third of it tracks Garlin’s attempt to greenify his life. He wants to amp up his already impressive recycling efforts, and he argues with his wife about buying energy-saving appliances and installing weather-stripping around doors and windows. With help from his friend Ed Begley Jr., he unleashes his inner Woody Harrelson.
Still, Garlin is most compelling in the weight management sections. You want to high-five him for avoiding another binge. You look forward to his conversations with Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld and Begley, because it isn’t boilerplate talk Garlin’s friends are truly supportive, offering advice and kicking his ass when he screws up.
My Footprint inspires you to get off your ass, and that’s no small feat for a book written by a guy known for being called a “fat fuck” on HBO.
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