Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 320
 Great message with some issues September 2, 2010
Sara A. Potter (St. Louis, MO)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been resisting Geneen Roth books for years. I knew all about *her*. She's this skinny blonde idiot who somehow doesn't have to diet anymore and makes her clients eat *chocolate*. Eat what you want? Are you kidding me?
Still not sure why I picked up the book, but the phrase that grabbed hold of me was this:
"Diets are based on the unspoken fear that you are a madwoman, a food terrorist, a lunatic. The promise of a diet is not only that you will have a different body; it is that in having a different body, you will have a different life. If you hate yourself enough, you will love yourself. If you torture yourself enough, you will become a peaceful, relaxed human being."
Sounds obvious in print like that, but yes, I did/do think that way--and wasn't really aware of it. Also, it's easy for a lot of compulsive eaters (like yours truly) to hear "eat what you want" as "eat everything you're craving until you physically cannot eat any more." There's a difference, and she actually does address that specifically at one point. Others have accused her of not including nutritional information or diet plans, but I suspect she is deliberately vague on nutrition because most chronic dieters are already experts on that subject, and know almost every plan out there (though we're always looking for new ones). Every body has different needs, so one person may have to cut out sugar, or wheat, or keep a food diary, or engage in suspiciously diet-sounding activities to best support his or her own health. That's up to the individual; Roth seems more worried about the mentality that drives those choices. She tries to dispense as little actual advice as possible, even couching that advice as "if love speaks" guidelines, trying to avoid anything that sounds like a hard-and-fast rule to be rigidly followed or rebelliously broken.
The book has issues, no question. Roth is an upper-middle class professional woman writing for people who are more or less like her, and that is likely the crowd with whom she is most successful (case in point: Oprah). At times it reads like a long, beautifully printed ad for one of her seminars (which I can't afford) or her personal coaching (ditto). A lot of what she said was clearly not directed at me, yet since I read the book, I've been eating more thoughtfully and binging less, and staying off the scale. I haven't found nirvana or anything, but life is a little more peaceful on the food front, so I'm grateful for that.
Oh, and also--if you're looking for the path to the Judeo-Christian God in this book, it's not here. Her concept of God is quite different and much more broad, which could be a relief to some and offensive to others. Still, her emphasis on honesty, kindness, non-judgmental listening and noticing what's going on in one's mind, body and life is spot-on, and frankly can't be repeated enough.
 Women Food and God August 31, 2010
Elaine
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was very disappointed in this book. There was terrible language used in the book and that was totally unnecessary to the content and very offensive. Also, I had no idea what the author was talking about, it made no sense at all to me. I would not recommend this book to anyone!!
 Best book on dieting I've ever read August 31, 2010
K. Skillern (Austin, TX)
Really covers in depth all the reasons why diets really DON'T WORK because there is so much more involved in the subject - it's our whole relationship with food and everything else in our lives. I think this is a must read for anybody thinking about going on a diet!
 Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything August 31, 2010
Serious Thinker
Not much new in this book that hasn't been said in others. Unfortunately, Ms. Roth spends more time talking "about" her issues, rather than going deeper into the "how" to make appropriate changes (unless of course you want to attend her retreats). No disrespect intended, but the title is misleading.
This woman reader found God in its pages August 31, 2010
nomdeplume
Eye-opening, shocking in its raw truthfulness, provocative in its assertions, this book helped me find my way back to God in the midst of a years-long struggle with compulsive eating. Instead of shame, Roth gave me grace. Instead of blame, she gave me mercy. Instead of disgust, she gave me understanding. I highlighted what seemed like the whole book! For the first time, I saw myself as I was: a struggler who needed a candle to light the way out.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 320
|
