Restoree (1967) is Anne McCaffrey's first full-length novel.
Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers
It is the story of Sara, an obese and introverted librarian from New York who is abducted by the Mil, amorphous alien creatures that eat human flesh. She is kept alive on a meat hook as a Mil meal until the alien ship she is on is captured by inhabitants of the planet Lothar, who look surprisingly like humans. Without her skin, some Lotharians mistake her for one of their own and perform controversial restoration procedures on her.
Sara comes to her senses in a mental institution on Lothar with no memory of what happened, little knowledge of the local language, and a beautiful, golden-skinned body. At the institution, she is treated as if she were retarded and given menial tasks to do. One of her jobs is to care for Harlan, the deposed planetary regent, who is being drugged into a moronic state. Recognizing what is being done, Sara helps Harlan to regain his senses and escape the mental institution. Sara and Harlan then gain the advantage over Harlan's political enemies, defeat the Mil, solve some of Lothar's emerging domestic problems and, of course, fall in love.
