Customer Reviews
Not the usual self-help book - By: , 15 Feb 2001 
I suppose not everyone overeats for the same reason so this book will work better for some than for others. For me, it certainly did. When Roth talks about her feelings of inadequacy, what drives her to eat compulsively & her realtionship with her mother, she could be talking about me...in fact she is talking about me. I bought this book out of sheer desperation as I reallly don't like self help books, especiallly Amercian self help books as they always tend to state the obvious in horrible boxed-in tips. Roth's book is a pleasant excpetion. Sure, she lists tips & abounds in advice on how to work on yourself & your eating habits but the book also has another function: you are not alone, you are not a horrible monster, others have lived & are living through the same struggles as you. Roth's book also gives you hope. Hope that you will manage one day & hope that even if you don't you'll be able to love yourself anyway. Read it if you have even the tiniest doubt that your relationship with food isn't reallly what it should be.
Wierd and disappointing - By: , 10 Feb 2001 
I opened this book with a great deal of enthusiasm afer reading the rave reveiws about it, but after ploughing through chapter after chapter, I got progressively more frustrated. Chapter one presented a very sensible golden rule: Eat when you feel hungry. Great. I know that. I know I don't. It went on to tell me "don't be afraid of that feeling". I'm not afraid. I just don't do it. And repeatedly "don't feel guilty about eating what you enjoy". Well, I don't. I'm not plagued with guilt , but I know what I eat is bad for me. This book repeatedly makes assumptions about what the reader is feeling, & assertions about what the reader should do, "eat what you reallly want", without addressing the key issues for me & many non-obese compulsive eaters: eating for stress, & other emotional factors, then getting hooked on sugar. This is one more disappointing charade.
If you overeat, you need to read this - By: , 03 Feb 2001 This was the first reallly helpful book I read on the subject. When I first read it, it gave me hope; until then, I felt I was never going to stop eating compulsively. The book helped me realise many of the things that made me overeat & find ways of stopping. Some of her tips are invaluable. And they work if you set your mind on making them work. After reading the book, my overeating improved a great deal. The book that reallly hit home, however, was Marilyn Miglore's "The Humger Within". It explained the deep roots of the problem & how to eradicate them. "When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies" by Hirschmann & Munter was the other book which provided the revelation. However, I find that Roth touches on some topics no other authors do & she does it in a very effective way. I also enjoyed her newer book "When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair".
EXCELLENT!!!!! - By: , 27 Jul 1999 I read the first print of this book 12 years ago & it changed my life forever!! I have truly broken free from the hold that food, weight phobias, dieting, anorexia & bulimia had on me for over 15 years. I have been free for 12 years now & am forever grateful to Geneen for her bravery to dare to eat only when she was hungry & whatever she reallly wanted. This book is a must read for women who suffer hatred for themselves & their bodies. Geneen helped me learn to trust myself & therefore love myself.
A life-long guide to keeping food and eating in perspective. - By: , 27 Jul 1999 This books is a wonderful resource for anyone who feels out of control with food, whether for binging, starvation, or just for overindulgences. After reading the book, each chapter/topic can be revisited as needed to replace that aspect of food & eating in its proper perspective. I've been reading this book for years. Gratitude is offered to Ms. Roth for her generous insight & wisdom. Highly recommended.
