Friday, February 22, 2013

Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth: A Review

Having been bulimic in my adolescent years, I gobbled up this tasty little soul treat by a women who knows whereof she speaks. Ms. Roth talks the talk because she has had her cake and eaten it, too!

From one compulsive eater to another, she puts pen to palate, explaining in masterful and poignant strokes the hidden current of hunger that drives many of us to food in place of so many other things.

I read on into the night when I first got hold of this gem for $3 in a bargain bin. Worth more than it's weight in chocolate, Women, Food and God will make you laugh, cry and think long and hard about the thing you do three times (or more) a day and why so many of us struggle with guilt, shame, and loathsome hatred of our bodies. After a few chapters with Geneen, you'll not only begin to appreciate yourself in a whole new way, but also begin to live by being present for your own life, something she claims we foodies have a hard time doing.

And the title's reference to God? While I would not call it a devoutly religious book, I found that it made me appreciate the way I was created and the wonder of life in its grand variety. According to my belief, God Himself intended to be the nourisher and feeder of our souls. Replacing His deeper gifts with a piece of chocolate cake is like wearing a cracker jacks ring at your wedding instead of a diamond.

If you're a woman, and you've ever struggled with your weight, or acceptance of your body-you've got to read this book!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

When is it a Good Day to Die Hard?


Two men. One's a dad (played by veteran shoot 'em up actor Bruce Willis), in search of  a prodigal son. The other is a son, (played by newcomer Jai Courtney),  trying to run as far and as fast away from dad as possible. After the obligatory tough guy interaction with each other due to their recent estrangement, they find themselves working together intuitively to carry out an undercover operation that exposes political corruption in the Russian Chernobyl incident. Some bad guys die, and some others aren't what they seem to be. There's where the intuition comes in, powered by a few machine guns, of course. In the final analysis the apple hasn't fallen very far from the tree.

Why is it that you feel so good at the end of a Bruce Willis movie? Is it that the chasing, punching, lacerating, falling from great heights, machine gun shooting, explosions and expletives and car crashes finally end, or that something is a little 'righter' with the world when Willis' character completes his mission? Maybe it's a little bit of both.