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corvingreene's review against another edition
5.0
What a necessary book! Sole-Smith tackles so many different aspects of food culture in the US, and her multiple points of entry into the issue offer a very nuanced picture of the topic, from infant feeding to eating disorders. I loved how she was able to make what could have been a dry topic come alive and read as engaging as a novel. I have a lot of thoughts on this book, and it definitely requires a trigger warning if you are someone dealing with food and weight issues yourself, but I appreciated Sole-Smith's overwhelmingly body positive and intuitive eating approach to the topic, and I highly recommend this book! It would be a great one to teach, as it's easier to read than some more scientific texts, and I can see it also functioning as a good example for students of how to incorporate research and interviews into their own texts.
disnelyse's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Fatphobia and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, and Racism
j45rpm's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book disappointing--the chapters do not form a cohesive work (it comes across as more of a collection of short non-fiction pieces); and Sole-Smith seems to focus on extreme examples rather than a holistic/overall look at what the title promised (food culture, body image, and guilt in America).
jn0el's review against another edition
4.0
I appreciate this book a lot. As a childcare provider and human in ED recovery, it was meaningful to learn about these eating experiences. I do with she hasn't used the word ob**e without more explanation of how problematic the BMI is.
lillianannivey's review against another edition
4.0
Parents or people planning to have kids should definitely read this.
amn028's review against another edition
4.0
The topics explored in this book were intriguing. Each section was broken into blocks that delved into different aspects around food, mental health, weight loss, body identity and even race. There was a lot to unpack in some sections. The book is well written and researched, and reads easily. The people who allowed themselves to be interviewed added extra human interest to the topics.
victoriagraupp's review against another edition
4.0
There's something left to be desired, but overall a really good primer on food issues and all the things that complicate how we feed ourselves and our kids
kael73's review against another edition
5.0
Very helpful to take a step back and look at things from an incredibly different perspective--the medical trauma that started her journey just adds a new level of complexity. Couldn't rate it higher.
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
I liked parts of this book. She is obviously passionate about her daughters eating disorder, which was not actually a super interesting part of the book for me.
The section on the super picky eaters that now have a disorder definition (ARFID) interested me the most. Probably because I could at least relate to this. All the annoying parts of being a person who only likes certain foods were totally accurate. It gets frustrating having to explain yourself all the time and lots of time it's just easier to refuse the invitation than have to explain, again. So, anyone who doesn't understand being picky, just stop trying to get your friend or family to eat something they don't want, especially if they are adults. Their choice, none of your business. That said, it was extremely obvious that the author did not understand these people at all, she did her best to be non-judgemental but definitely didn't really get it.
The rest of the book covered topics like food deserts, body image, & obesity, but I've read about these subjects elsewhere in more depth, so none of them were as interesting to me, though the writing was well done.
The section on the super picky eaters that now have a disorder definition (ARFID) interested me the most. Probably because I could at least relate to this. All the annoying parts of being a person who only likes certain foods were totally accurate. It gets frustrating having to explain yourself all the time and lots of time it's just easier to refuse the invitation than have to explain, again. So, anyone who doesn't understand being picky, just stop trying to get your friend or family to eat something they don't want, especially if they are adults. Their choice, none of your business. That said, it was extremely obvious that the author did not understand these people at all, she did her best to be non-judgemental but definitely didn't really get it.
The rest of the book covered topics like food deserts, body image, & obesity, but I've read about these subjects elsewhere in more depth, so none of them were as interesting to me, though the writing was well done.