By the time she left school (she dropped out to escape the teasing of her classmates and to help contribute financially to her family) she weighed nearly 300 pounds.
Her biography details the many painful incidents she endured growing up, while also recalling the insulated world provided to her by her loving family.
Also an accomplished singer and impersonator of celebrities of the day, such as Kate Smith, Dolly's act became a big draw on the sideshow circuit.
[1] The home became a haven for Dolly, away from the crowds and fitted out with suitably sized furniture and bathroom fixtures.
Her weight eventually caused her to slow down and she began to suffer physically by her late 40s, making traveling with the circus more difficult.
After surviving a near fatal heart attack in 1950,[3] Dolly followed a strict 800 calories (3,300 kJ) per day diet and in little more than a year she reduced her weight to 112 pounds, maintaining the loss for the rest of her life.