I'm glad I didn't purchase this right away when my therapist recommended it because I think I would have been frustrated and disappointed. "God" here does not mean any particular god from any particular religion. I don't have a problem with that in principle, but in the context of my conversation with my therapist, I would have thought that it would be more specific to the Christian God. If I had picked it up then, I would have been really put off. There are some really keen insights, in here, particularly for binge eaters to understand their own psyche and reasons why they think/feel/react the way the do. The chapter on not underestimating the urge to bolt was highly enlightening for me. However, I agree with other commenters (on Amazon, where I will be cross posting this review) that when the author shares insights of breakthroughs from some of her patients, they come across as too easy, too simple, as if everyone has breakthroughs left and right every day on her retreats without much effort. I'm sure the stories are true, but as told I don't find they effectively convey the very hard work (sometimes months or years of it) that is often needed to arrive at some of these breakthroughs. If I had read it earlier in my recovery, I think I would have walked away discouraged. On the whole, I'm glad I read it, and I would recommend it with the caveats above. But I'm also glad I read it when I did, months after my therapist recommended it and after some of my own hard ground had been tilled.Read full review
This book was written strangely! I had a hard time staying focused on exactly what the author was trying to convey. I read the first 118 pages and still find this author hard to follow. She really doesn't need to use the "F" word to tell her stories, but she does. I find that takes the focus off of any pure connection with a personal God. God -- in this book -- is whatever you want it to be. Whatever spiritually drives you. It has a strange feel to it for me. I think the author could have been more focused and gotten the message across more easily that we carry deep wounds and hurts with us, from our "life-stories", that cause us to turn to food instead of dealing with the real problems we just never really dealt with. I didn't particularly like the book ~ it was a confusing way to deliver a message of hope. I heard about the book on an Oprah show recently with Iyanla Vanzant. They were highly recommending the book to a viewer to help her unravel her feelings. I was really disappointed!Read full review
I found this book a little bit hard to read at first; some of the phrasing was awkward in my opinion. As I read further into it, however, the "lightbulb" came on and the author's message really began coming through to me. I had never given much thought about eating as a way to escape (feelings), or leave my body as such so not to experience whatever negative thinking was needing to be pacified. This book give you yet another reminder to come back to what we are feeling and experiencing and look at it from a healthier and safer perspective. In doing so, we discover what is really underneath the surface and begin the process of putting aside any and all neurotic behaviors. A little bit of a slow start. . .but really eye-opening in self-discovery.
I am not sure why everyone loved this book! There were somethings that I think about now that I have read it; ask yourself if you are really hungry? (nothing new just a reminder) She says you can be both a very strict dieter and a someone who says the hell with it and eats what they like. She thinks that we can just decide to eat in moderation and loose weight, well hasn't that been said a thousand times! I guess I missed the point. I did not really see how we were to overcome our emotional eating. She suggests paying attention to when we want to eat but then it still comes back to willpower to stop ourselves, and as she points out, sometimes we can have great willpower and other times we say the hell with it. Anyway, I don't disagree so much with what she says, I just did not find it helpful. Others seem to have loved it so I hope it helps them to loss weight, Oprah still hasn't after reading her book!Read full review
Oprah had the author, Geneen Roth on her show and since I have weight issues I decided to get the book. It is a great read. Some colleagues and I are planning to do a book study as a group because it's rather deep and one read isn't enough. I'm doing some deep soul searching as a result and opening up to feelings that had been buried a long time ago! I would certainly recommend this book to all women, men, boys, and girls alike who have issues with any "addiction".
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