[3] Cherie Bennett obtained the idea of the novel from her readers because she writes about real life issues many young girls are affected by.

Cherie Bennett was commissioned to write a theatrical adaptation of Life in the Fat Lane by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

According to Lara, her family life is perfect because her parents are youthful, beautiful, and involve themselves in every aspect of her and her brother's lives.

Shortly before winning Homecoming Queen, Lara takes pity on an obese classmate named Patty Asher and offers to help her lose weight.

After seeking over fifty medical doctors, she is diagnosed with a rare and incurable metabolic disorder called "Axell-Crowne" syndrome.

In order to try to hold up the last strings of the family, the Ardeches move to Michigan from Nashville to begin a new start, but Lara is having an even harder time at this high school.

Her home life becomes more chaotic, with her father making it painfully obvious he is still cheating on his wife, and her mother's desperate attempts to keep her husband.

[7] Life in the Fat Lane has received many positive reviews by Publishers Weekly, Amazon Books, and Good Reads.

Publishers Weekly said, "Reading this often artificial novel for insight into [issues of weight, self-image and beauty] is a little like eating peanut M&M's for the protein, but it's a similarly addictive experience".

She battles self-hatred, learns who her true friends are, feels her father's embarrassment and denial of her disorder, and faces prejudice as an overweight person".