Africa Yoon née Engo was about to turn 30. She was a celebrated activist working in Manhattan and around the world when she found she had gained 120 pounds and was obese. She realized she needed a life beyond her work and dreamed about having a husband and children. For her dream to come to fruition, she must work on herself to achieve her goal.

The activist starts on the road toward the greatest cause of her career-to save herself-and decides she will do a spiritual and physical makeover to find self-love in hopes it may lead to true love. One afternoon at the Asian grocery store Hmart, a Korean grandmother calls her fat! After the initial embarrassment of the public moment, the two begin an unusual friendship that leads her to eating kimchi-and that moment changes everything.

This memoir is full of culture, food, inspiration, and travel in this ugly-duckling-turned-swan transformation story, not unlike the self-discovery and romance vein of Sex and the City.