Customer Reviews

When Food Is Love: Exploring the Relationship Between Eating and Intimacy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

There is evidence that bingeing disorders can be caused by the taking of antidepressant medications (Seratonin Re-uptake Inhibitors, like Effexor, Prozac, etc.), because of the metabolic and neurological derangement these chemicals can produce. The effect can last for years after the client stops taking the drug. For people in this situation, psychological remedies of any kind are ineffective, and Roth's "eat what you want" method can be downright dangerous. If you have been prescribed antidepressant medication, and your compulsive eating began AFTER you began taking it, consider that this might be the cause. Proceed into theories like Roth's with extreme caution. To her credit, though, this book is a great read. It goes quickly and is full of interesting and often touching anecdotes. Her tone is gentle and compassionate.

This book was helpful to me in that it showed me there are others struggling with this problem. It also provided insight into the link between compulsive eating and childhood traumas.

While my childhood was nothing like Roth's, and a lot of what she has gone through I have not, I found this book helpful in coming to terms with my own eating compulsion issues.

It's dramatic and sometimes hard to relate to. I'm also finding some of the concepts difficult to grasp (I'm now reading it for the second time), but I believe the overarching ideas Roth presents are useful to those of us who've only recently diagnosed our eating compulsion issues.

Even if you aren't a compulsive eater, this book offers great insight into the world of addiction. It focuses on why we substitute food (or anything else) for love in your lives and examines events from our childhood as the reason for this inability to receive love from others. A great read, educational yet contains stories from the author's life, and others she has met, which keep it moving.

For anyone who has ever struggled with an eating disorder or who has used food for their comfort, this book hops into your mind and reads like it was taken from your life. Geneen touches on so many points that hit close to home and dicusses them in a way that will make you wonder if she has been reading your own personal diary. All in all, this is a wonderful book that made me stop and really examine those aspects of my life that needed attending to.

You have got to be kidding me. This is no answer for a food addict. Read Kay Sheppard and find recovery.

Roth doesn't just tell you to diet and exercise--in fact, she tells you not to! As she tells the story of her own struggles to get past her abusive childhood, and to become able to trust and enjoy her relationship with her boyfriend (who later becomes her husband), she shows us how we use food to make ourselves feel better, and why we become so dependent on it. She talks about how hard it is to enjoy the good things without trying to sabotage them, which is something I did without realizing I did it. (My wonderful boyfriend is really glad I read this book!) Though our stories are very different, I saw myself in many of her actions. I never realized that my problems with food, my series of troubled relationships, and events from my childhood (and adulthood) were so connected. This book doesn't just help you lose weight, it helps you change your habits, heal your past and accept good things in your life. I especially reccommend it for everyone who sneaks to the fridge every time you feel depressed, overwhelmed or hurt.

Must-read for anybody who had a difficult childhood. Even though the title and some references are to eating disorders, it's relevant and helpful for any addictions or indeed life and relationship problems that result from a painful past.

Very entertaining and easy reading, while making the difficult emotions and consequences very real. Thus true healing, understanding and transformation result, not just intellectual knowing.

It's a joy to read, an absolute keeper and I only wish her title and references to eating disorders hadn't put me off reading it when it was first very highly recommended to me 10 years ago.

If you could only read 1 book, this should be it even if you had a great childhood as it will help you understand and deal with others who didn't.

I was REALLY disappointed in this book, and I recommend that you not buy it. It was all about her, her romantic relationships, and her friends and aquaintences. This book tought me nothing.

For a great book on how to stop compulsive eating, I HIGHLY recommend The Taming Of The Chew by Denise Lamothe.

Geneen Roth has a handle on what the problems concerned with compulsive eating are all about like no one else I've ever heard or read. She has been there. I have discovered so many things I never knew about myself from reading this book. After being a compulsive eater most of my 47 years, I am understanding for the first time in my life why I do the things I do, that I am not the only person to ever be abused, that there is help and hope out there. I have already stopped feeling panicky about eating and about food. I've never been touched by an author as I have been by this one. I think the only way to stop any compulsive behavior is to first understand it. An amazing, amazing effort by a woman truly anointed to stand in the office of teacher of how to heal your broken, addicted soul. Thanks to Geneen, I'm on a journey back to myself.

This book is truly the bible of all people who struggle with food and body image. Geneen Roth does use personal examples in this book but that is the best way to connect with someone. I definitely prefer receiving advice from someone who I know has had similar feelings and issues than by someone who simply preaches. Keep this book by your bedside. It will teach you something new about yourself each time you pick it up.