As an endurance athlete with a lifelong weight problem, Jayne Williams struggles daily with the complex and powerful lures of food. Truly dedicated to working out, to having the wind in my hair as I hurtle my bicycle around the backroads, Williams is nonetheless far from immune to the dark pull of exercise as penance for culinary sins committed, or about to be committed.

I Need This Donut (To Fuel My Workout) dissects this always chronic, sometimes comic, often desperate conflict between the discipline of the triathlete and the hedonism of the fat girl. In a world where most of us have more resources for healthy living than you can shake a stick at, but we just keep getting fatter and fatter, the author's exploration is supremely timely, about as universal as they come, excruciatingly honest, and a rollicking good read.

Jayne Williams lives with her husband in Northern California, writing for fun and paychecks. She has eaten raw reindeer in Siberia and completed 20-plus triathlons and one slow marathon.