LETTING GO: How You Can Heal Your Hurt, Love Your Body and Transform Your Life

by Emma Woolf

Life doesn’t need to be a struggle. Letting go is the strongest thing I’ve ever done…

‘A practical and heartfelt guide to healing for anyone who has suffered from low self-esteem, a lack of confidence, or disordered eating. Woolf writes with intelligence, wisdom and compassion for a generation of women battling an enduring media onslaught of perfectionism. The fightback continues.’
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, The Vagenda


Exploring the issues of love, loss, healing and happiness, this manifesto for freedom from one of feminism’s liveliest voices will guide you on the path to feeling newly, truly confident.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Illness, Memoir

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2015

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this as a free book through Goodreads First Reads.

Although accepting that this book has been written by someone who has gone through various problems during her life one of the first things that is told about is a retreat in France, yes this helped the author but many reading this will not have the money to be able to undertake such a venture so I personally feel that it is totally irrelevant and of no help to others. Yes maybe you can use some of the techniques used but its difficult without the proper guidance.

Some very useful things are brought up i.e. reference to a woman's body clock and fertility which many will find the comments useful but overall all I dont feel that I could recommend this book to someone who is suffering with a variety of problems - maybe one of her earlier books would be better.

[Jessica Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the '52 around the year' book group challenge. This weeks challenge was 'Read a book set in a different continent'. Letting Go is a book set in a French yoga retreat. I found this book super insightful on how to let go of your fears and worries. I think it's a book that will speak to everyone in some form of way. Very inspiring and motivating.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma Woolf is probably best known for writing about overcoming eating disorders. This book is no exception, and definitely discusses ways to be more body positive and healthy is eating habits. However, it is also more about that - about exercise, relationships, fertility, and how society views women. Woolf writes in a relatable and semi-confessional style that makes reading easy to understand and quick to read. This was a great book to work on worrying less and accepting all the different areas of life.

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored 'An Apple a Day', and was expecting more of the same: a confessional memoir with a narrative weaved throughout. Instead, 'Letting Go' is a self-help book filled with advice on how to let go of various things. It's a bit disjointed, throwing you from place to place, and Emma's references from her own life aren't told in a chronological fashion.
I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't already read one of Emma's books in the past, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

[Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was debating whether to put this as a 2 or 3 star but I think it does fall more into the lower rating.

There is a lot of focus on eating disorders in this book which for some may be helpful and inspiring but it wasn’t what I thought I was signing up for when reading. The book overall felt quite random and much more of a memoir than a useful self help style as it had less practical pieces of advice.

[Wendy Orchard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me this one. I thought that she wrote about herself and her own experiences a tad too much whereas I prefer my self help/growth books to be more generalised observations and teachings.

[Bushra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the fact that Emma talks from personal experience. Its a light book and i found some parts funny. Although I must say I have learned a few things from this book, like the art of really letting go, I felt like I was reading a group of random magazine articles. I didn't mind some of them because they interested me, but others were way off-topic.

[Chrisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Thank you, Emma Woolf and Summersdale, for the opportunity to read your book.

I'm not sure I'm the target audience for this book, but that doesn't discount its quality. Emma Woolf is a very good writer and this book was very easy to read and connect with. I'd say it reads more like a memoir than a self-help book, which isn't the impression I get from the blurb underneath the title. However, Emma Woolf does make some very good points which had me rethinking my life a bit; although, I sometimes felt she overly reinforced them.
On a positive note, my favorite part of the book was the last chapter because Ms Woolf finishes it so strongly. I think if you're looking to gain a bit of perspective, then this book could offer that.

[Milly Paris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been a massive fan of self help books. I've always found that they came across as patronising and that they just stated the obvious. However, recently I've been finding many things from my past that have been negatively affecting me and that I haven't been able to get over, so when I saw this book, I impulse bought it. This book is part self-help, part memoir. I really love Emma Woolf's writing style and some bits genuinely made me tear up. Granted, all the spirituality/retreat sections kind of make me roll my eyes but the rest was great. I think being a woman in your twenties is really difficult and she tackled that. I still don't love self-help books (I read to escape) but this book was really interesting and I'll definitely be recommending it to friends.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure how to describe this book - it appears to a random set of ideas / thoughts on how to cope with the modern world.

I found a few bits of this book interesting but overall it read like a series of magazine articles.

Real rating 2.5

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A down to earth, honest book about Emma Woolf's own experiences and what has helped her in her recovery from anorexia.

[Verity · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as Apple a day. Stream of consciousness