This is an amazing, harrowing piece — you won’t read another so brave and so intimate — about one woman’s decision to have weight loss surgery at 530 pounds. Her voice is so true, so strong, that you don’t feel pity in reading her words. You find yourself putting yourself in her shoes and living through the torture. I wish the best of health and recovery to Heidi.

Her essay, “I Hate Weight Loss Surgery — Here’s Why I’m Having It,” is causing a rush of emotion and chatter among bloggers in the Fat Acceptance movement, where the party line says (and I do admit I’m oversimplifying) Fat Is Fine. But Heidi’s story is a reminder that fat is not always fine.

This line got to me:

“I absolutely believe there are people who weigh 530 pounds and are happy and healthy. I’d never be so myopic as to claim my experience as the norm.”

This is a girl who feels she has to defend herself to her community for stating that life at 530 is so unpleasant she’s ready to take a drastic, potentially dangerous measure.

Shoot me down, but I’ll be so myopic as to say that there are not people who weigh 530 pounds and are happy and healthy. Reality is, life gets pretty uncomfortable when you’re carrying around a refrigerator, whether society loves you or not.

“Big is Beautiful” shares common ground with the Ana Crew. They both fetishize fat.

That doesn’t mean that there’s not any good being done by folks in the Fat Acceptance crowd; in particular, gastric bypass and related surgeries deserve critique. It also doesn’t mean you shouldn’t love yourself if you’re heavier than the “norm.” (Duh.) You should love yourself and treat your body with good care at any weight.

But should you accept the burden of say, 300 extra pounds? Hell no, sez me!

Of course, it gets ever more complicated, confusing, and ambiguous as you reduce the amount of overweight. How big is too big? And what remedy, stomach stapling for example, is too drastic? Ultimately, we each have to draw our own line.

I’d love to hear what others think.