My Story
Speaker, Life Coach, Best Selling Author
Hi! I’m Kelley Gunter: a survivor, emotional warrior, connoisseur of comfort food, and the author of You Have Such a Pretty Face. My painful journey to find peace and self-worth began with a 243-pound weight loss included many dark moments of despair that eventually brought me to my knees. Broken and devastated in the aftermath of my own self-destruction, my fractured faith screamed out that somehow, I still had a faint pulse and my shattered heart was, in fact, still beating.
I was born and raised in a small town in Southern Ohio and graduated from a small rural school that combined grades kindergarten through 12 in the same building. Spending summers with my grandparents, I learned the art of true southern cooking from my grandmother, whom I affectionately called “Nonnie.” My grandmother and mother were both avid readers and they passed on their love of reading to me.
My first book, You Have Such a Pretty Face, is a memoir detailing the emotional journey of being obese and the surprising changes brought on by my 243-pound weight loss following bariatric surgery, as well as the emotional factors that contributed to my initial weight gain. I am currently in the process of writing a second memoir, The Homecoming Queen of Crazy Town.
When I’m not writing or studying, I enjoy cooking, baking, and reading. I make it a habit of enjoying all of the sweet magic life has to offer and thanking God regularly for blessing me with the continued gift of life.
Featured In
December 22, 2022, The Trauma Therapist podcast with Guy Macpherson PhD, You. Are. Not. Alone. with Kelley Gunter
September 16, 2022, A Dose of Positivity with Mike Diamond Podcast, A Dose of Positivity with Kelley Gunter
August 18, 2022, The Healing Trauma Podcast with Monique Koven, Hope and Healing with Kelley Gunter
March 31, 2022, Overcome Outloud Podcast with Charlie Smith, Kelley Gunter
August 4, 2021, Sex and Relationship Healing, Kelley Gunter, Surviving Trauma and Maintaining Sobriety
July 29, 2021, Podcast, Tatoos of My Soul Podcast Episode 2: Kelley Gunter
June 2, 2021, Sex and Relationship Healing, Grief and Mourning
April 27, 2021, Eden’s Livingtv2, Kelley Gunter “You Have Such a Pretty Face”, weight loss and incest survivor
March 3, 2021, Sex and Relationship Healing, Who is Responsible for Trauma and Addiction
February 25, 2021, The LWN Foundation, Town Hall Get to Know Kelley Gunter Emotional Warrior
February 11, 2021, Majica Entertainment, 90 Day Fiancee: Ash Naeck Talks to Kelley Gunter About Her Life Hacking from “Broken” to “Healed”
February 5, 2021, Authority Magazine, Author Kelley Gunter: How to Learn to Finally Love Yourself
February 3, 2021, Sex and Relationship Healing, Hold on, Pain Ends
January 27, 2021, InTheRooms, Weight Loss Surgery and Cross-Addictions- Tipping the Scales in Your Favor
January 27, 2021, LA Talk Radio, The Dr Nina Show
January 6, 2021, Sex and Relationship Healing, Sexual Abuse and Healing
December 16, 2020, LA Talk Radio, The Dr Nina Show
December 2020, LoveWhatMatters.com, Starved for love, I made disastrous decisions
November 10, 2020, Dr Nelson Bulmash, Rising of the Phoenix, Conversation with Kelley Gunter
October 8, 2020, Beautiful Disaster Clothing – Live With Kelley Gunter
October 6, 2020, DailyMail.com, Abuse survivor who turned to food for comfort after being raped when she was just SEVEN sheds 244LBS after finally dealing with the trauma that made her binge-eat daily for decades
September 25, 2020, Eden’s Living, Kelley Gunter sharing her testimony. Author ‘You Have Such a Pretty Face’
August 22, 2020, InTheRooms, Maintaining Sobriety Through the Aftershocks of Childhood Sexual Abuse
August 7, 2020, Recovery Today Magazine, It’s Not the Branches, it’s the Roots
October 28, 2019, Weight Loss Surgery Podcast, Episode 106 Kelley Gunter On Living in the Truth
July 21, 2019, The Lighter Side with Jay Casale, Kelley Gunter
April 29, 2019, DailyMail.com video, Woman once addicted to fast food loses over 230 pounds
April 12, 2019, DailyMail.com, Woman who became addicted to fast food to cope with the trauma of childhood abuse is unrecognizable after weight loss surgery helped her drop over 230lbs
November 13, 2018, Good Morning Cincinnati, Author Kelley Gunter will tell her story during “A Night of Hope”
September 12, 2018, LA Talk Radio, The Dr Nina Show
August 10, 2018, People Magazine South Africa
July 10, 2018, DailyMail.com, Mother who ballooned to 400lbs after suffering years of sexual abuse as a child shed TWO THIRDS of her body weight – and is now a motivational speaker after turning her life around
May 31, 2018, Connie Stapleton, PhD, Food Addiction Fair and Firm
May 17, 2018, My Bariatric Life, Kelley Gunter Interview: Pretty Comes in Every Size
Schedule an Event
katie@sandiamountainmarketing.com
Contact Me
author@kelleygunter.com