Sometimes a pretty face won’t get you everywhere. That’s what Mississippi-bred model Crystal Renn learned when she first entered the fashion industry.

After a scout told the then 170 lb 14-year-old that she could become the next Gisele if she could just loose 10 inches off of her hips, Renn soon developed an eating disorder that saw her at 95 lbs at rock bottom.

In her book Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves, Renn tells her tale of overcoming anorexia and exercise addition (she’d sometimes spend up to eight hours on the treadmill!), and becoming a successful model in Ford’s plus-size division—starring in Vogue spreads, Dolce & Gabbana ads, and even closing Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion show.

Her refreshing message of staying true to yourself and accepting your pre-destined set weight will inspire any mom struggling to lose those last few post-baby pounds. It’ll also help anybody following the upcoming New York Fashion Week coverage (September 10-17) that will surely showcase waifs galore.

Hungry comes out September 8th. You can preorder it on Amazon now, and preview Renn telling her courageous story over at YouTube.

Bio: Katie Hintz-Zambrano is a freelance writer living in Manhattan. She’s covered fashion, music, health, beauty, and sports for Details, New York, Nylon, ESPN The Magazine, The Village Voice, TimeOutNY, Style.com, AOL, and plenty other magazines and web sites. She writes the monthly music reviews for Hybrid Mom.