Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Steps for Turning Your Life Around
Jared is one of the most recognizable advertising icons of the last decade, and one of the most successful—sales at Subway franchises skyrocketed after the debut of TV commercials describing how he lost nearly 250 pounds by eating two sandwiches a day. But while those ads focused on the feel-good angle of his accomplishment, Jared's memoir explores the frightening aspects of being at high risk for heart attack at the age of 20 and the frustration of all his previous failed attempts at dieting. He uses his experience as a framework to offer advice on achieving all sorts of personal transformations, from dieting to battling addiction, but the principles he lays out are fairly bland: "One size doesn't fit all," "Change is for life," etc. The self-help material becomes engaging only when Jared shares the personal details of his unconventional weight-loss strategy—like how he kept his scale in the closet and let the increasing bagginess of his clothes tell him his diet was working. Delivered in a voice as amiable as his TV persona, Jared's plainspoken inspirational message has perfect built-in appeal. (Sept.)
