This Messy Magnificent Life

December 15, 2017
Inspirational thoughts to overcome self-defeating body imagery and low self-esteem.The author of many self-help books, Roth (Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations About Food and Money, 2011, etc.) focuses primarily on weight and food issues. Here, she examines how women look at and compare themselves to an ideal woman who doesn't exist, a situation that leads to a skewed sense of self and, often, eating disorders. The author stresses the importance of taking action and accepting who you really are, whether it's in skinny jeans or not; ultimately, she writes, the only person you need to answer to is yourself. Based on her personal journals and interviews with the thousands of women who have worked with her through her workshops and retreats, Roth provides a gentle, guiding hand for those in search of comforting words to help them build self-esteem and assert control over all aspects of life. Depression, loneliness, and general feelings of emptiness are common among women with body image issues, and the author addresses them with compassion, blending her teaching with touches of humor, thoughtful reflections on her own journey, and motivating quotes from other authors. She also delves into dog ownership, the fear of death and dying, and reaching the end of the therapy road. "There isn't a someday. There never was. No one has ever been to the future that you keep putting your life on hold for. All we have is now," she writes. It is vital to "do something, anything, that brings you joy and makes you feel as if you belong here...even for fifteen minutes." Though hardly groundbreaking, these chapters of simple advice are easily digestible, and reading one per day is a good way to start this practice.Empowering words for women--especially those struggling with body issues--to regain control of their lives.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 8, 2018
This pleasant book from Roth (Women Food and God) again addresses a female audience about common struggles with body image, self-worth, trauma, and the trials of growing old. In chapters that can be read as individual essays, Roth reconfigures difficult experiences and, with the benefit of distance, relates them in witty, upbeat reminiscences. She remembers being criticized for being “too much” while growing up—too sensitive, too demanding, too big: “they somehow forgot to mention that I was also sassy, silly, and keen-eyed.” In an attempt to release readers from feelings of unworthiness, Roth explains how her journey to peace of mind first began by untangling her unhealthy relationship to food. The opening section addresses how food, because it is one of the joys of life, can become a crutch for self-esteem: “consistently eating beyond enough is a way to not have to face that what we love ends.” Roth writes about how breaking her back caused her to consider the heavenliness of the human body, how witnessing a puppy’s joy encouraged her to calm her mind, and how (in a timely chapter) a conversation with a friend about Gloria Steinem made her consider the possibility of an international patriarchal “cabal.” Roth, who has become more resilient with age, will captivate readers with her energetic yet calming wisdom.