Edie
Edie is the aging matriarch of the family and the protagonist of the novel. Her life experiences, marked by headings of how much she weighed at the time, serve as the unifying elements of the narrative. When she was a child, her parents were emotionally unavailable. Edie craved attention and love, so she turned to the dopamine reward of food and never looked back. After her marriage ends, she starts taking her health more seriously but desire and execution are radically different things. She needs concrete help to work through the inexpressibly painful and overpowering hold of addiction because her relationship to food was formed by consequence of her relationship to her family and herself at a young age.
Richard
Richard divorces Edie after forty years of marriage. He was never much of a family man, preferring to put his hours in at work. His children and even Edie herself all feel that he was largely disappointed in them. When he leaves, however, he cites Edie's refusal to lose weight after all these years.
Robin
Robin is Richard and Edie's daughter. She works as a schoolteacher and fits a bit of a stereotype. She's neurotic and at times comes across as very controlling, demonstrating little empathy for her mother's situation. Of course, she worries about her mom, but she doesn't extend herself to understand how difficult and complicated addiction can be.
Benny
Benny is Richard and Edie's son. He's the polar opposite of his sister, eager to help everyone reach some kind of reconciliation. Although he is more attune to his mother's feelings than Robin, he does not possess the discipline and communication skills to effectively help Edie. At the same time he is feeling dissatisfaction in his own marriage to Rachelle because he feels that she has changed and drifted apart from him. More than anything, he wants to rekindle the teamwork which they enjoyed in the early years of their marriage.
Emily & Josh
These are Benny's and Rachelle's kids. They're approaching their thirteenth birthdays and are very excited to be recognized in the synagogue for their recent adulthood. Coupled with these big changes, they become increasingly aware of Edie's health problems and become invested. They continue to adopt adult concern for their family and do their best to facilitate communication between the various adults and their silent worries.
