What do you think?
Rate this book
Reclaiming the Black Body: Nourishing the Home Within
An essential exploration of the overlooked impact of disordered eating among Black women—and a prescriptive road map to returning to peace and wholeness within our bodies, from the clinical therapist who founded Black and Embodied Counseling and Consulting PLLCFood has always been a political tool for the oppressor. And the body, especially the Black body, has always been one of its many battlegrounds.Licensed mental health therapist, somatic healer, and eating disorder specialist Alishia McCullough understands that for far too many Black women, the myriad effects of racial trauma have disrupted their most essential the one they have with their bodies—and by extension, with their food. African Americans are disproportionately impacted by disordered eating behaviors, yet their experiences are frequently overlooked by doctors and mental health experts. As a result, entire communities—our most vulnerable communities—are forced to navigate systems that are already primed to dismiss their needs, leaving them without proper care, or often even the language they need to identify what’s wrong.McCullough’s groundbreaking work radically validates the lived experiences and generational traumas of BIPOC communities. As part of a steadily growing movement among clinicians to “decolonize therapy,” McCullough rejects the patriarchal, white supremacist mindset that has dominated the field, and instead embraces a more integrated approach that seeks to understand disordered eating patterns by examining the psychological wounds left by centuries of racism.Weaving together crucial history, compelling client stories, guided practice, and McCullough’s own experiences with disordered eating behaviors, Reclaiming the Black Body is a revealing, potentially life-saving book that illuminates the way home, back to the safety and comfort found within our bodies.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published January 14, 2025
26 people are currently reading
4388 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 24, 2025
I want to give a big thank you to Random House Publishing, Dial Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Alishia McCullough’s important and provocative call for healing the relationship that Black women and femmes have with their bodies in her book Reclaiming the Black Body: Nourishing the Home Within. I was a little surprised that I received a personal invitation to review this book. As a Cisgender white male, it seemed like this book’s audience was a different demographic. However, after reading the book, I am so grateful that Dial Press and Random House sent the book my way. Even though the book was mostly focused on the health, mental wellbeing, and self-care practices of Black women and femmes, there was much I could relate to, and I can see how McCullough’s purpose in reclaiming the Black body has a direct connection to other authors and texts in the African American literary cannon.
McCullough starts her book with an important argument by noting that in her work as a therapist primarily focused on food imbalances (or what is clinically often referred to as eating disorders), most of the research and therapies were designed with white, female populations, probably from socio-economic status where they had access to treatments, facilities, and therapists. She also notes the continued trauma that Black people, especially Black women (and femmes) have undergone throughout history. As I was reading the introduction and first chapter, I couldn’t help but think of the scene in Toni Morrison’s Beloved where Baby Suggs, the main character’s mother-in-law, encourages a congregation of formerly enslaved people to love themselves, to love every part of their body. Baby Suggs goes on to identify each body part, encouraging the congregation to engage in this loving act of self-care and nourishment, not only as individuals, but also as a community who has been fragmented and separated. Nearly 30 years after Morrison’s book, Ta-Neihisi Coates also wrote about his fears of losing his body, and his son’s body, to the violence of systemic and racial discrimination. I remember reading that section shortly after my son turned one and both empathizing with Coates but also being aware of my privilege that I would never experience that kind of threat of loss. McCullough’s book also helped me better understand the kinds of threats, violence, and trauma that Black women experience, especially in a society that is increasingly “health conscious”, but also dominated by images, ads, and products mostly marketed towards a white idea of health. In fact, McCullough’s arguments and calls to reclaim Black bodies reminded me both of Baby Suggs’ loving call for a community to piece itself together after the trauma of slavery, and of Coates’ anger, fear, and frustration at witnessing the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Renisha McBride, and John Crawford. McCullough also shares other people of color who have been murdered by individuals and police to strengthen her argument about both the need for increased health and the threat to health that Black Americans routinely face.
Beyond this kind of violence, McCullough presents other ways that Black health has been limited or attacked, whether it is bias in the medical profession or by bias against foods. Reading more about these biases was an eye opening experience, supported not only with clinical examples from McCullough’s practice, but also from her own experiences. I really appreciated her bravery and candor in exploring her own experiences—the comments and assumptions from friends and family, the questions and boundary pushing from colleagues and co-workers—the one incident that McCullough experienced after removing braids was so shocking. However, she aptly uses these experiences to provide real world examples of the kinds of barriers, biases, and aggressions that Black women face on a daily basis. Furthermore, I feel like this book challenges many assumptions about Black Americans, especially Black women. I remember learning more about relational aggression in grad school, and how there was like no research on relational aggression with Black adolescent girls. The research claimed that Black girls didn’t engage in this kind of relational aggression, and that they tended to have higher self-esteem due to positive body images. And while McCullough discusses some of the body positivity movements that have largely been supported by Black women, her research and work shows that Black women are also impacted by eating imbalances, concerns about their bodies, and other threats that are complicated by their intersectionality as both Black and women, and possibly members of other identities.
In addition to presenting the issues related to the lack of research and eating imbalances that Black women face, McCullough has also developed guided practices and reflective questions at the ends of each chapters, so the book focuses more like a workbook that supports continued growth and development to learn habits that will help restore individuals. I can see myself coming back to many of these guided practices, which seemed both soothing and confrontational—in a good way—challenging readers to look closely at the roots of some of their imbalances. The reflective questions were also really useful to dig deeper and exploring our relationships to our eating, the foods we choose, and our bodies, among other things. As a white reader of this book, it was also important for me to learn more about the kinds of racism, biases, and implicit assumptions that Black Americans face. Furthermore, as a father of a daughter who is in a big body and someone who has struggled with his own weight issues when I was younger, I can appreciate McCullough’s focus on the kinds of experiences early on that often shape our ideas about our bodies in adolescence and beyond. It was surprising to hear some women express a desire to grow bigger to avoid attention, while other women wished to become invisible for the same reasons. I’ve always tried to be sensitive to my daughter’s weight, but it is really hard to shield her from the onslaught of images and ideals that are presented in society on a daily basis. In fact, a recent experience at a dance class, where she had to have a dance outfit specially ordered because she is larger than the other girls in the class, made me think more about this book and how so much of society and culture is made for a norm that is not really dominant in society. People are just expected to conform and not really challenge the ways things are; however, McCullough’s book reminded me that we need to fight continually for fair and equal treatment and access to better foods, therapies, and materials for all. I also wanted to mention that McCullough’s book reminded me of another book I read recently about restoring practices to restore health The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well by Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins. In this book, Luger and Collins advocate for a return to more traditional ways for better health and a connection to the earth. McCullough also makes her case about returning to more traditional ways which allows us to integrate more with the earth and nature. That was just another beautiful element about this powerful book that makes it compelling and necessary to read. I hope that McCullough continues to work with others, but also creates more books, workshops, and resources to support people to regain balance and restore their wholeness once again.
McCullough starts her book with an important argument by noting that in her work as a therapist primarily focused on food imbalances (or what is clinically often referred to as eating disorders), most of the research and therapies were designed with white, female populations, probably from socio-economic status where they had access to treatments, facilities, and therapists. She also notes the continued trauma that Black people, especially Black women (and femmes) have undergone throughout history. As I was reading the introduction and first chapter, I couldn’t help but think of the scene in Toni Morrison’s Beloved where Baby Suggs, the main character’s mother-in-law, encourages a congregation of formerly enslaved people to love themselves, to love every part of their body. Baby Suggs goes on to identify each body part, encouraging the congregation to engage in this loving act of self-care and nourishment, not only as individuals, but also as a community who has been fragmented and separated. Nearly 30 years after Morrison’s book, Ta-Neihisi Coates also wrote about his fears of losing his body, and his son’s body, to the violence of systemic and racial discrimination. I remember reading that section shortly after my son turned one and both empathizing with Coates but also being aware of my privilege that I would never experience that kind of threat of loss. McCullough’s book also helped me better understand the kinds of threats, violence, and trauma that Black women experience, especially in a society that is increasingly “health conscious”, but also dominated by images, ads, and products mostly marketed towards a white idea of health. In fact, McCullough’s arguments and calls to reclaim Black bodies reminded me both of Baby Suggs’ loving call for a community to piece itself together after the trauma of slavery, and of Coates’ anger, fear, and frustration at witnessing the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Renisha McBride, and John Crawford. McCullough also shares other people of color who have been murdered by individuals and police to strengthen her argument about both the need for increased health and the threat to health that Black Americans routinely face.
Beyond this kind of violence, McCullough presents other ways that Black health has been limited or attacked, whether it is bias in the medical profession or by bias against foods. Reading more about these biases was an eye opening experience, supported not only with clinical examples from McCullough’s practice, but also from her own experiences. I really appreciated her bravery and candor in exploring her own experiences—the comments and assumptions from friends and family, the questions and boundary pushing from colleagues and co-workers—the one incident that McCullough experienced after removing braids was so shocking. However, she aptly uses these experiences to provide real world examples of the kinds of barriers, biases, and aggressions that Black women face on a daily basis. Furthermore, I feel like this book challenges many assumptions about Black Americans, especially Black women. I remember learning more about relational aggression in grad school, and how there was like no research on relational aggression with Black adolescent girls. The research claimed that Black girls didn’t engage in this kind of relational aggression, and that they tended to have higher self-esteem due to positive body images. And while McCullough discusses some of the body positivity movements that have largely been supported by Black women, her research and work shows that Black women are also impacted by eating imbalances, concerns about their bodies, and other threats that are complicated by their intersectionality as both Black and women, and possibly members of other identities.
In addition to presenting the issues related to the lack of research and eating imbalances that Black women face, McCullough has also developed guided practices and reflective questions at the ends of each chapters, so the book focuses more like a workbook that supports continued growth and development to learn habits that will help restore individuals. I can see myself coming back to many of these guided practices, which seemed both soothing and confrontational—in a good way—challenging readers to look closely at the roots of some of their imbalances. The reflective questions were also really useful to dig deeper and exploring our relationships to our eating, the foods we choose, and our bodies, among other things. As a white reader of this book, it was also important for me to learn more about the kinds of racism, biases, and implicit assumptions that Black Americans face. Furthermore, as a father of a daughter who is in a big body and someone who has struggled with his own weight issues when I was younger, I can appreciate McCullough’s focus on the kinds of experiences early on that often shape our ideas about our bodies in adolescence and beyond. It was surprising to hear some women express a desire to grow bigger to avoid attention, while other women wished to become invisible for the same reasons. I’ve always tried to be sensitive to my daughter’s weight, but it is really hard to shield her from the onslaught of images and ideals that are presented in society on a daily basis. In fact, a recent experience at a dance class, where she had to have a dance outfit specially ordered because she is larger than the other girls in the class, made me think more about this book and how so much of society and culture is made for a norm that is not really dominant in society. People are just expected to conform and not really challenge the ways things are; however, McCullough’s book reminded me that we need to fight continually for fair and equal treatment and access to better foods, therapies, and materials for all. I also wanted to mention that McCullough’s book reminded me of another book I read recently about restoring practices to restore health The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well by Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins. In this book, Luger and Collins advocate for a return to more traditional ways for better health and a connection to the earth. McCullough also makes her case about returning to more traditional ways which allows us to integrate more with the earth and nature. That was just another beautiful element about this powerful book that makes it compelling and necessary to read. I hope that McCullough continues to work with others, but also creates more books, workshops, and resources to support people to regain balance and restore their wholeness once again.
October 24, 2024
Reclaiming the Black Body is about Mental Health, Diet Culture, Beauty Standards, Medical Racism, Food Deserts, fatphobia etc and WHEW! I would recommend this book to any Black woman or GNC person on a body acceptance journey. It’s very eye opening as eating disorders and like are not something that is talked about much in our community. You can tell this was written with a lot of love and care.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC
August 31, 2024
what a beautiful, vulnerable, informative, transformative, NECESSARY book. i feel so honoured to have gotten the chance to read an advanced copy. that is definitely a book i will be coming back to time & time again, and will be referring it and/or sharing bits from it to so many folks in my life. i was able to learn concrete ways to connect with my body, ancestry and self. i left with so much knowledge about how our shared history, oppression & relation to systems have led to being disconnected from our bodies, as well as ways to reconnect and become embodied. i am so glad that this book exists.
January 14, 2025
This is a great read. Definitely one to go back with a print copy, a notebook and a highlighter. I grabbed the audio version so I can hear it (I process better) and because I want to ingest the chapters on fatphobia in the Black community.
January 14, 2025
In "Reclaiming the Black Body: Nourishing the Home Within," Alishia McCullough, LCMHC, presents an essential exploration of the often overlooked impact of disordered eating among Black women. Drawing from her experience as a licensed mental health therapist, somatic healer, and eating disorder specialist, McCullough explores how racial trauma disrupts Black women's relationship with our bodies and food. This groundbreaking work asks readers to acknowledge and address the disproportionate effects of disordered eating within BIPOC communities. McCullough's approach integrates historical context, client stories, guided practices that encourage somatic embodiment and healing. She shares her own experiences as a Black woman from the South (who is also the eldest daughter in a sibling group of three and a first generation college student), providing a comprehensive and empathetic road map to healing the mind, body, spirit connection.
As a bibliotherapist, I find "Reclaiming the Black Body" to be a significant addition to the literature on eating disorders and racial trauma. McCullough honors the contributions of Black feminist thinkers and emphasizes that eating disorders are biopsychosocial-spiritual conditions impacting diverse individuals. She roots disordered eating behaviors in the history of slavery and generational trauma, highlighting the need for culturally informed care. By rejecting patriarchal and white supremacist frameworks, McCullough offers a decolonized perspective that is both validating and ground breaking. This book is invaluable for anyone seeking to heal their relationship with food and their body, particularly within the context of systemic oppression and cultural trauma. One quote that resonates deeply is: "Healing can be a lonely journey; it requires faith and surrender to the process of becoming undone and unraveled so that you can be fully transformed."
McCullough offers Black women and femmes a pathway to restoration and reconnection within our bodies that honors our ancestral inheritances. She does not moralize health. Instead, she teaches us to honor the ways we have been impacted by culture and systemic issues so that the true self can reemerge and move beyond the trauma rooted in survival. Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!
As a bibliotherapist, I find "Reclaiming the Black Body" to be a significant addition to the literature on eating disorders and racial trauma. McCullough honors the contributions of Black feminist thinkers and emphasizes that eating disorders are biopsychosocial-spiritual conditions impacting diverse individuals. She roots disordered eating behaviors in the history of slavery and generational trauma, highlighting the need for culturally informed care. By rejecting patriarchal and white supremacist frameworks, McCullough offers a decolonized perspective that is both validating and ground breaking. This book is invaluable for anyone seeking to heal their relationship with food and their body, particularly within the context of systemic oppression and cultural trauma. One quote that resonates deeply is: "Healing can be a lonely journey; it requires faith and surrender to the process of becoming undone and unraveled so that you can be fully transformed."
McCullough offers Black women and femmes a pathway to restoration and reconnection within our bodies that honors our ancestral inheritances. She does not moralize health. Instead, she teaches us to honor the ways we have been impacted by culture and systemic issues so that the true self can reemerge and move beyond the trauma rooted in survival. Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!
January 24, 2025
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.
In Reclaiming the Black Body, Alishia McCullough dissects the ways in which disordered eating behaviors in BIPOC are impacted by generational trauma and white supremacy.
This book is absolutely jam packed with insight into underexplored contributors to body image and disordered eating issues, and it is also absolutely jam packed with an almost adamant love for the work and the reader. McCullough talks about a range of topics here, from fatphobia to food culture, breaking down concepts behind eating and body image that I'd never really considered before. Interspersed throughout the book are also guided exercises designed to help the reader get more in touch with their body and their feelings about food. It is clear to me that this comes from a place of experience, not only personal but secondary, where McCullough's role as a licensed clinician really shines through. This book made me understand not only a lot more about myself, and my relationship with both my body and food -- a relationship which needs a lot more reflection and work than I thought going in -- but also provided me a substantially more intersectional perspective on how other folks who are not like me experience their relationships with their bodies. Though the text is quite dense, I think that this is the rare self help book I'd recommend for most readers. McCullough's work is vital.
In Reclaiming the Black Body, Alishia McCullough dissects the ways in which disordered eating behaviors in BIPOC are impacted by generational trauma and white supremacy.
This book is absolutely jam packed with insight into underexplored contributors to body image and disordered eating issues, and it is also absolutely jam packed with an almost adamant love for the work and the reader. McCullough talks about a range of topics here, from fatphobia to food culture, breaking down concepts behind eating and body image that I'd never really considered before. Interspersed throughout the book are also guided exercises designed to help the reader get more in touch with their body and their feelings about food. It is clear to me that this comes from a place of experience, not only personal but secondary, where McCullough's role as a licensed clinician really shines through. This book made me understand not only a lot more about myself, and my relationship with both my body and food -- a relationship which needs a lot more reflection and work than I thought going in -- but also provided me a substantially more intersectional perspective on how other folks who are not like me experience their relationships with their bodies. Though the text is quite dense, I think that this is the rare self help book I'd recommend for most readers. McCullough's work is vital.
February 13, 2025
This was a very insightful read that I will be thinking about for a while. Black bodies, especially Black women and femmes, have been weaponized through slavery, white supremacy, and patriarchal society. It was refreshing to see someone like Alishia talk about these complex topics from a Black person's gaze. I have had issues myself with body image due to society's insistence on thinness and European beauty standards. The chapter on patriarchy especially resonated with me as I have heard on those very phrases that were uttered among the church folk and adults in general and felt so low as a kid. I believe books like this should be read to help those of us that are willing to learn and heal our inner child that has been hurt by the actions of adults in the community who didn't know how to process their own trauma and instead forced the behavior on their kids. This gives those in the Black community a chance to choose a different path and have the necessary resources to thrive.
February 17, 2025
A Beautiful and Profound Read
Reclaiming the Black Body is a stunning, deeply insightful book that is both enlightening and transformative. The author masterfully weaves history, personal narrative, and critical analysis into a powerful exploration of identity, agency, and healing. Every chapter offers profound reflections that challenge and inspire, making this an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the complex intersections of race, embodiment, and resistance. Beautifully written and meticulously researched, this book is a gift—one that lingers in the mind and heart long after the final page. Five stars, without hesitation.
Reclaiming the Black Body is a stunning, deeply insightful book that is both enlightening and transformative. The author masterfully weaves history, personal narrative, and critical analysis into a powerful exploration of identity, agency, and healing. Every chapter offers profound reflections that challenge and inspire, making this an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the complex intersections of race, embodiment, and resistance. Beautifully written and meticulously researched, this book is a gift—one that lingers in the mind and heart long after the final page. Five stars, without hesitation.
August 21, 2024
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book. I originally picked it because of the subject matter and the cover. The entire pushed under the rug black women disordered eating hits home for a lot of ADOS families. It was actually very eye opening for me. Some of the impacts of our society I had completely not even thought about making the connection but when McCullough did it was quite surprising, it makes so much sense. I took my time with this book and enjoyed this read.
September 16, 2024
ty to NetGalley for the arc of this book
If I were to give this book a one-word review, it would simply be "Wow". I've read many mental health-focused books in my time and this was one of the best I've ever read, if not the best. The author touched on many facets of what makes up our bodies and the social and environmental impacts. I am a white, afab person, so there were several parts of this book that I couldn't relate to in my personal life, but I am certainly better for knowing regardless.
If I were to give this book a one-word review, it would simply be "Wow". I've read many mental health-focused books in my time and this was one of the best I've ever read, if not the best. The author touched on many facets of what makes up our bodies and the social and environmental impacts. I am a white, afab person, so there were several parts of this book that I couldn't relate to in my personal life, but I am certainly better for knowing regardless.
December 26, 2024
Thank you for Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of Reclaiming the Black Body by Alishia McCullough. It is a profound exploration of the overlooked impact of disordered eating on Black women, framing it within the larger context of racial trauma and societal oppression. It delves deeply into eating disorders and how it shows up in the body. I liked that it was told from the perspective of a mental health therapist with her personal stories intertwined as well as tools to heal within.
February 15, 2025
Love this book! Thankful to have won a paperback advanced reader copy in a Goodreads giveaway. The range of topics covered and how they are linked to disordered eating for Black women is exceptional; I learned and re-learned so much about history, society and culture, as well as how oppression operates on a micro and macro scale. The writing is smooth and deeply personal in a way that connects you with the author. The guided questions were great; they're really open-ended and linked to the body, and help the reader pause and dig into their thoughts and feelings simultaneously.
May 27, 2025
This book is written for Back women and femmes. While I’m not the primary target audience I loved it so very much and was deeply moved by it.
I love that this book exists for all the Black folks with “eating imbalances” who will be seen, cared for, and guided by Alishia’s wisdom.
I love that this book exists for all eating disorder providers who can deepen their understanding of the unique strength, challenges, and needs of Black folks.
And I love how this book centers the expansion of how we think about and approach healing.
Get this gorgeous book into your hands and hearts.
I love that this book exists for all the Black folks with “eating imbalances” who will be seen, cared for, and guided by Alishia’s wisdom.
I love that this book exists for all eating disorder providers who can deepen their understanding of the unique strength, challenges, and needs of Black folks.
And I love how this book centers the expansion of how we think about and approach healing.
Get this gorgeous book into your hands and hearts.
August 23, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It was beautifully written. I am someone who works in the mental health field and found this as a great resource and also was healing for my inner self. It brought insight on challenges that women of color face with their bodies and how to empower us. I thought the author did a great job telling some of her vulnerable moments and I hope that this can bring some insight on what eating disorders looks like for someone of color. I also enjoyed the reflection questions and meditations like I said this was a very healing book. 💕
January 19, 2025
4.5/5 Stars ~ Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an authentic review. I was excited to read this text, i am also a Black, female, licensed clinician. I enjoyed this book but it is HEAVY and quite wordy. I appreciate it challenging how we as Black women - and the Black community as a whole consider certain topics such as our relationships with food, mainstream beauty standards etc. I also appreciated the guided writing prompts.
February 1, 2025
I expected to find wisdom in the words of Alisha McCullough based on her writing on social media but this book far exceeded my expectations. This is a book we all need to read rifht now. If you are on a body liberation journey, this book will be supportive and mind-blowing companion. If you are not quite ready, this book will inspire you to check the body stories you’ve inherited and offer yourself gracious plenty compassion and insight. Thank you for this gift Alisha.
May 6, 2025
I enjoyed this read! It explores how racism, generational trauma, eating disorders, and mental health all intersect—especially for Black women. Gave it 4 stars because some parts dragged a bit, but overall, it was super powerful. Super open-ended and body-focused in a way that really makes you stop and reflect. Also, if you’ve read Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings, this pairs with it perfectly.
July 15, 2024
Reclaiming the Black Body is an important and insightful read about disordered eating amongst black women. The author shares her story and provides us with a road map on how to heal our mind and body while finding peace within ourselves. This was a very healing read, one that changed my life and that I'm very grateful to have read.
August 21, 2024
I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
There are many things I enjoyed and learned from this book. My main issue with it though is that after a while is seemed a bit repetitive in info. I like how it has practices and questions to ask yourself at the end of each chapter for those who want it, but they seemed to be a bit long and many seemed unnecessary and/or not very helpful.
There are many things I enjoyed and learned from this book. My main issue with it though is that after a while is seemed a bit repetitive in info. I like how it has practices and questions to ask yourself at the end of each chapter for those who want it, but they seemed to be a bit long and many seemed unnecessary and/or not very helpful.
September 3, 2024
Wow. This book is exactly what I needed. The vulnerability, the research, and the beautiful reflections helped me so much! I appreciate the deep review of the research of the impacts of oppression and racism on the Black body in a way that didn't feel like trauma dumping.
June 3, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and The Dial Press for this arc. All opinions are my own. I found this book to be very informative and well rounded. I appreciated the author's perspective and references to other experts. Definitely one I will continue to think about and will probably revisit.
October 18, 2024
Phenomenal!!
February 25, 2025
Amazing and so necessary!!
December 31, 2024
This was a really informative and super insightful read. At times, it was too much information to process but there are many things I enjoyed and learned from this book. I am intentionally reading books to help validate my experiences and life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group & Random House -The Dial Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group & Random House -The Dial Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review
April 12, 2025
This was an incredibly informative and thought-provoking read. I found myself connecting with the author’s experiences, especially as someone who grew up as a first generation American in a Caribbean household. Food wasn’t just food... it came with rules, expectations, and guilt. "Wasting" it wasn’t an option, which taught me to ignore everything my body was telling me... physically and mentally.
By the time I was 15, I had developed an eating disorder and a terrible relationship with food. It felt like the enemy, so I stopped eating for long periods of time... which in turn, affected my mental health. As an adult, I’ve worked hard to build a healthier relationship with food, but it’s still a struggle.
This book hit home as it explored the connections between racism, generational trauma, eating disorders, and mental health. I gave this book 4 stars because, while the content was impactful, it became a bit repetitive at times. Still, I’d recommend it to anyone looking to understand the deeper ways our histories and traumas shape our relationships with food and ourselves.
.
.
.
💕 Thank you Random House Publishing Group for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
By the time I was 15, I had developed an eating disorder and a terrible relationship with food. It felt like the enemy, so I stopped eating for long periods of time... which in turn, affected my mental health. As an adult, I’ve worked hard to build a healthier relationship with food, but it’s still a struggle.
This book hit home as it explored the connections between racism, generational trauma, eating disorders, and mental health. I gave this book 4 stars because, while the content was impactful, it became a bit repetitive at times. Still, I’d recommend it to anyone looking to understand the deeper ways our histories and traumas shape our relationships with food and ourselves.
.
.
.
💕 Thank you Random House Publishing Group for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews