22 May 2010

My mind, it is blown

I'm about halfway though Geneen Roth's "Women Food and God."

I don't think it is hyperbole to say that it is the most amazing book about food and diet and body image I have ever read.

It's not about religion or dieting. It's about our need to fix ourselves, about not living fully, and about emptiness and what it takes to fill us up.

I only got it yesterday and I have taken to reading it with my highlighter in my hand.

How about this: "Fixing ourselves is not the same thing as being ourselves." Yowza.

Since I started reading the book, I have already eaten three meals sitting down at the table with a tablecloth and flowers. I paid attention to what I was eating and how I felt.

It was hard work, too. As a compulsive overeater, I tend to eat while I am doing anything else - reading, watching TV, walking around. It felt odd, but good, to concentrate on the food and on my body.

The subtitle of the book is "An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything," and I think that it absolutely true. I'm looking forward to seeing what is ahead.

1 comment:

smalltownme said...

I need to read that book.

When I was a child, my mother was not into having family dinners. We all took our plates and retreated to our various corners. It's different with my own family...we sit at the table and enjoy it.

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