I cried like a baby during her visualizations. I did listen to this as an audiobook and it was a recording of her workshops. I loved it. I took a lot of things away like how happiness is an internal state and not based on external conditions. I learned about experiences many of my clients may have gone through that I wasn’t aware of. I learned about myself as a child. I learned how food soothes pains from the past. I learned how to heal. I learned better how to guide others in their journey. Highly recommend!

The stories they had in the book reminded me alot of myself, and others reminded me of people who were really determined to try and keep weight off of them.

Another must read--this book helped me recover. If I have to choose the top 5 books that helped me the most, this would be on that list.

This was like a class project to compile stories from different contributors. It's sectioned into the topics of Bingeing, Body Image, Hunger, Nourishment, and Breaking Free. Few glimmers to me, but if you're a compulsive eater, there's probably at least one story you can relate to, and maybe that makes all the difference in the throes of a relapse.


Some highlights:
- Fat has become the national obsession. It is a curse. Fat is a symbol for anything you are that you don't want to be. Fat has nothing to do with how much you weigh.

-Being thin is a "thing". Has any "thing" you've ever obtained brought you truly long lasting satisfaction? Is it not true that the excitement of a "thing" is in the desiring of it, and that once it is yours, your focus changes to the next "thing" you don't have? Because being thin is not easily recognizable as a thing - the way a house, address, or car is - it may be difficult to see the validity of this reasoning. And yet, if you think about it, being thin is not an inner state of being: it is something your body isn't. It is external; its value is created by the society and the times.

- The drive to eat compulsively is not about food. It is about hungers. The hungers of regret and sorrow, of unspoken anger, unrealised dreams; the hungers of your own potential that are waiting to be filled... The more you run, the more frightened you become. Because then you have to deal with a problem you've created along the way: the 10 or 20 or 30 lb you've gained. Problems that arise from running are only symptoms of the underlined hungers. But they become realities in themselves that must be dealt with - so the focus gets transferred from the psychic to the physical level.

- You don't stop binging because it's disgusting, because you're spineless, or because you know you will be fat for the rest of your life if you continue. But the need to binge does become irrelevant when you realize what you want and that you will not get it by eating.

- Awareness asked that, if you use food to knock out the pain, notice whether or not it is effective, notice if and for how long the pain disappears. If you learned that food is not relieving your suffering - if it is, in fact, creating more of it - you can choose a more satisfying anodyne. There is no need to struggle, only to remain sensitive to the motivation behind your actions and then to the actual effectiveness of those actions.

Not as good as "Women, Food and God" but it was good to hear from others and their experiences.

something for everyone.

Saw myself in a lot of the examples. I really am going to have to go back through all of these books with a highlighter this time.

This is one of my go-to books when I'm feeling out of control with compulsive eating. Geneen has a lot of words of wisdom that turn into self-esteem building mantras for those who have issues with food.

I read this book because it was mentioned by a writer for Refinery 29, an online magazine that I like, who is writing about her experiences with intuitive eating. It's a great segment, and if you want to check it out, google "anti-diet project." As for this book, it wasn't as groundbreaking for me as "When Food is Love," but it was still enjoyable. Good for anyone who identifies as using food as a balm for any type of stress or sadness in your life.

This book was randomly suggested to me by my significant other. So incredibly grateful they recommended it as it came just at a time when I needed it most. I related to so much of what was shared on a cellular level.

The book is an older book but so much of it was applicable to my experience of being in the throws of an eating disorder and what was truly lacking for me. I have been starving myself of love, affection, and connection and almost literally eating my face off.

I knew something needed to change and fast and thankfully reading this book led me to getting additional support to heal the decades of trauma I had yet to heal.

Forever grateful to my partner for sharing their wisdom and listening to that inner voice which led me to this book. Also grateful to Geneen Roth for her generous sharing of herself and those she has worked with in overcoming their compulsive eating.

This book is worth the read for anyone dealing with an eating disorder and seeking relief.

I so wish I'd read this book about twenty years ago! Though I've never experienced the binge/diet cycle, I certainly can relate to many of the described attitudes towards food. I think my young adulthood would've been very different if I'd discovered Geneen Roth before now. Food doesn't have to be forbidden, and we don't need to fear our appetites. What fantastic news!

Recommended by a friend who is a compulsive eater, much of this book did not resonate with me.