Book Review: Ravenous

I downloaded the Kindle version of this book because they were briefly giving it away free - sorry that deal isn't still available!  However, I read it and it turned out to be great!

Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey from Obsession to Freedom by Dayna Macy

It is exactly what the subtitle describes it to be...  She's a food addict that is trying to find a solution for her food issues.  Most of her exploration is learning about where food comes from and how it's made, but also dealing with issues from her past and what drives her to overeat.  I really enjoyed her journey, and it was also very interesting to me to read about someone who comes from such a different culture from me.  She's from California and non-religious, so her life experience and even what she thinks about and wants are VERY different from mine.  However, we shared a lot of common thread when it comes to WHY we eat, and many of her lessons were very applicable for me.  Great "food" for thought...  Pun intended.  ;)

Not to give away too much of her journey, but my favorite quotes come from the end when she's recapping what she learned.  I've marked in purple the parts that I connected with the most.

I see that my body, with its generous curves and flesh, is not perfect.  But it is still beautiful and I am grateful to it.  With it, I gave birth to our children and hold my husband in my arms.  With it, I cook the food that nourishes us, do yoga, sing, and write these words.

Weight can be gained or lost.  Our judgments about our bodies are much harder to lose.  I see that my body is strong.  It lets me do things both beautiful and practical.  I am grateful to have found a practice that is helping me find balance and lose weight.  But the scale is a witness to my journey, not the measure of my worth.  It is with gratitude and humility that I am learning to take care of my body, because it is the embodiment of my spirit and the vehicle with which I make my way through this complicated, magnificent world...

I did all this to free myself, to wake up, because the world needs whatever I can give back to it.  Because this is not a dress rehearsal and there is no time to waste.  And if I still need to be reminded of some of these things, if I am still a work in progress, it's because I'm a life in progress.