Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Light, and HarperCollins 360/HQ for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
I needed this book in my life. I still need this book in my life. I will be reading and rereading this book, either in part or in whole throughout the year, especially around the holidays where food is aplenty and shame abounds. As someone who struggles with disordered eating, has struggled with my weight my entire life due to health issues out of my control, and works in the mental health field, this book is so incredibly necessary.
This book breaks down diet culture, fatphobia, racism, the historical contexts surrounding weight loss/gain, and the socioeconomic factors that rule this entire system. I knew some of this (like the fact that BMI is *incredibly* racist and built on white male’s body weights) but I didn’t know so much of the other racism that is ingrained into diet culture that is mentioned. Alex does a great job backing up everything she says with either research or news articles or anecdotes. There is so much packed into this book that I don’t think I can adequately express how much great content is in this and how necessary it is to read.
I also listened to the audiobook of this book and it is read by Alex – and is done phenomenally. If you can’t read books, try listening to it. This book really helps with breaking down diet culture, why the “body positivity” movement isn’t necessarily great, but finding food freedom is.
I am so grateful I got to read this book and I will be rereading it during the holidays for sure. 10/5