Nancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000. She was 45 years old and had diabetes and heart disease. Thanks in equal parts to shame and logistics, she'd been homebound for a dozen years. But all that changed after a gift from her sister: a computer. A technophobe, Nancy ignored it for months, until finally boredom and curiosity pushed her into cyberspace. And there, in a chat room, she found the friendliness, the support, and even the love she'd been missing for so long. Nobody flinched when Nancy spoke up; people treated her with the same respect accorded to everybody else.

Thanks to these emotional connections, Nancy's life was transformed. She followed no diet plan; no pills, potions, or ab-crunching exercises played a part. There was no silver bullet, no magical, elusive ingredient - yet Nancy has lost more than 530 pounds.

Nancy's tale is one of redemption, a story of reevaluating her worth and insisting she had value simply because she was human. It will show a growing America that life is sweet and always worth living.