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Radical Belonging: How to Survive + Thrive in an Unjust World
Too many of us feel alienated from our bodies. This isn't your personal failing; it means that our culture is failing you.
We are in the midst of a cultural moment. #MeToo. #BlackLivesMatter. #TransIsBeautiful. #AbleismExists. #EffYourBeautyStandards. Those of us who don't fit into the "mythical norm" (white, male, cisgender, able-bodied, slender, Christian, etc.)—which is to say, most of us—are demanding our basic right: To know that who we are matters. To belong.
Being "othered" and the body shame it spurs is not "just" a feeling. Being erased and devalued impacts our ability to regulate our emotions, our relationships with others, our health and longevity, our finances, our ability to realize dreams, and whether we will be accepted, loved, or even safe.
Radical Belonging is not a simple self-love treatise. Focusing only on self-love ignores the important fact that we have negative experiences because our culture has targeted certain bodies and people for abuse or alienation. For marginalized people, a focus on self-love can be a spoonful of sugar that makes the oppression go down. This groundbreaking book goes further, helping us to manage the challenges that stem from oppression and moving beyond self-love and into belonging.
We are in the midst of a cultural moment. #MeToo. #BlackLivesMatter. #TransIsBeautiful. #AbleismExists. #EffYourBeautyStandards. Those of us who don't fit into the "mythical norm" (white, male, cisgender, able-bodied, slender, Christian, etc.)—which is to say, most of us—are demanding our basic right: To know that who we are matters. To belong.
Being "othered" and the body shame it spurs is not "just" a feeling. Being erased and devalued impacts our ability to regulate our emotions, our relationships with others, our health and longevity, our finances, our ability to realize dreams, and whether we will be accepted, loved, or even safe.
Radical Belonging is not a simple self-love treatise. Focusing only on self-love ignores the important fact that we have negative experiences because our culture has targeted certain bodies and people for abuse or alienation. For marginalized people, a focus on self-love can be a spoonful of sugar that makes the oppression go down. This groundbreaking book goes further, helping us to manage the challenges that stem from oppression and moving beyond self-love and into belonging.
345 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
155 people are currently reading
3647 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
February 3, 2021
Oof. This book. I’m impressed by how many different threads Lindo Bacon pulls together. This is an expansive, ambitious book that explores individual and collective trauma through an intersectional lens. They explore fatphobia, transphobia, racism; the limits of self-help and body positivity; psychological theories and modalities; restorative practices; the importance of community and belonging; the harm we carry in our bodies when we are shunned, shamed, othered. Some books are like plates of perfectly portioned food—a pile of mash, two chicken breasts, a side of green beans—and other books are like stews—veggies, broths, spices, oils, meats that blend together so the parts form a whole that is made of its individual ingredients and transcends its ingredients. This book is like that—a stew of theory, memoir, praxis, insight. Really glad I read this book—I learned and FELT so much while reading it.
May 12, 2022
**UPDATE**
Lindo lacks integrity and I do not recommend buying their book. Much of it feels like a regurgitation of other authors as I mentioned in my earlier review, which is fitting considering Lindo has made a career of taking concepts that are not theirs and pawning it off as their own.
Initial Review:
Felt like it's pretty beginner stuff for people who have been on the ED recovery journey for a while. Lots of Brene Brown, Christy Harrison referenced. Appreciate Lindo's personal stories.
Lindo lacks integrity and I do not recommend buying their book. Much of it feels like a regurgitation of other authors as I mentioned in my earlier review, which is fitting considering Lindo has made a career of taking concepts that are not theirs and pawning it off as their own.
Initial Review:
Felt like it's pretty beginner stuff for people who have been on the ED recovery journey for a while. Lots of Brene Brown, Christy Harrison referenced. Appreciate Lindo's personal stories.
September 22, 2021
I appreciated the intersectional approach, and the shifting of the conversation away from personal responsibility onto systems of oppression, but I didn't feel like I really got anything new out of this one. I do a lot of reading/listening/exploring in this space, and so these concepts didn't feel particularly new or revolutionary to me, but I don't think that makes them any less important.
January 13, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lindo dives deep into what community care and belonging mean in a world that often puts the onus on the individual to health themselves. Lindo's own experience navigating their gender is weaved throughout in a way that I'm sure will resonate with many. Lindo also addresses some of the things they got wrong in their first book, Health at Every Size, which was validating to read as someone who struggled with a few things in that book. Highly recommend for other healthcare professionals and all humans.
February 19, 2021
I agree with the vast majority of what the author writes, but I’m just not into their voice. I skimmed most of it. I’m glad it’s out in the world but I personally didn’t enjoy the writing style.
December 11, 2020
In Radical Belonging, Lindo Bacon argues that community is the antidote. To what? Problems that arise in the human body from systemic oppression.
Compiled of explanatory sections with anecdotes, Bacon aims to educate the reader. Toward this goal, they is successful. The argument of the book follows a clear structure: Culture is oppressive → Look to the body for evidence → Here’s what we can do to fight oppression → Here’s what you can do as an individual → But, for a lasting solution, society must change. Bacon even includes a glossary, manifesto for body liberation, critical awareness exercise, and toolbox to “smash the gender binary”. The book exemplifies Lindo’s overarching point: self-help and societal change are interconnected.
“Instead of trying to make the woundedness go away, let’s create a safe place to be ourselves, to trust each other and come together in our woundedness.” (Pg. 271)
The book fits in the genres of advocacy and self-help — yet is confined to neither.
Despite a well structured and persuasive argument, I found the writing style difficult to connect with, slipping into skimming portions as Lindo continually expanded on various definitions — most being terms their target audience are familiar with. I appreciate Lindo’s insistence on not assuming the reader’s knowledge base — their insights on gender were quite helpful — but it did come off a tad patronizing at points. (For example, the average reader knows who Yoda is, but a definition is given nonetheless.) The awkwardly inserted anecdotes, while complementing the specific issue being discussed, failed to construct an overarching narrative for the reader to follow from beginning to end. Further, certain ideas and examples were repeated — sometimes word for word — in different chapters of the book. The book doesn’t seem to be written for a beginning to end read, as I read it, but as a reference guide for a reader to jump around, picking and choosing which sections seem interesting.
Lindo’s argument is hardly novel (the basis of various ancient religions is connection and rapidly developing social science literature seems to agree) but her presentation is uniquely crafted for today. I suspect it will resonate with many.
I’m tempted to say Radical Belonging would be most useful in the hands of policy makers and the medical community, but that would be to miss the point: this is about every body (yes, body) taking personal responsibility, not just for our own self-improvement, but improving society. Indeed, the two are inseparable.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGallery.
Compiled of explanatory sections with anecdotes, Bacon aims to educate the reader. Toward this goal, they is successful. The argument of the book follows a clear structure: Culture is oppressive → Look to the body for evidence → Here’s what we can do to fight oppression → Here’s what you can do as an individual → But, for a lasting solution, society must change. Bacon even includes a glossary, manifesto for body liberation, critical awareness exercise, and toolbox to “smash the gender binary”. The book exemplifies Lindo’s overarching point: self-help and societal change are interconnected.
“Instead of trying to make the woundedness go away, let’s create a safe place to be ourselves, to trust each other and come together in our woundedness.” (Pg. 271)
The book fits in the genres of advocacy and self-help — yet is confined to neither.
Despite a well structured and persuasive argument, I found the writing style difficult to connect with, slipping into skimming portions as Lindo continually expanded on various definitions — most being terms their target audience are familiar with. I appreciate Lindo’s insistence on not assuming the reader’s knowledge base — their insights on gender were quite helpful — but it did come off a tad patronizing at points. (For example, the average reader knows who Yoda is, but a definition is given nonetheless.) The awkwardly inserted anecdotes, while complementing the specific issue being discussed, failed to construct an overarching narrative for the reader to follow from beginning to end. Further, certain ideas and examples were repeated — sometimes word for word — in different chapters of the book. The book doesn’t seem to be written for a beginning to end read, as I read it, but as a reference guide for a reader to jump around, picking and choosing which sections seem interesting.
Lindo’s argument is hardly novel (the basis of various ancient religions is connection and rapidly developing social science literature seems to agree) but her presentation is uniquely crafted for today. I suspect it will resonate with many.
I’m tempted to say Radical Belonging would be most useful in the hands of policy makers and the medical community, but that would be to miss the point: this is about every body (yes, body) taking personal responsibility, not just for our own self-improvement, but improving society. Indeed, the two are inseparable.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGallery.
November 22, 2020
Lindo Bacon’s two previous books have played a foundational role in shifting conversations away from weight stigma and introducing the concept of Health at Every Size (HAES) to audiences desperate for ways to escape from the damage diet culture does to our minds and bodies. In this new book, Bacon (they/them) ventures into deeper social justice work in order to explore ways in which we can find a sense of belonging in ourselves and in our bodies when the world is hostile toward us. Whereas body positivity makes it our responsibility to love ourselves even if the world does not, the concept of radical belonging allows for changes and challenges; it thus gives individuals experiencing body dysmorphia, PTSD, and forms of alienation or disconnect from their bodies strategies of finding their way home without feeling pressure to deny their experiences in the world. As they explain, oppression becomes woven into our bodies—which is why we need body liberation that happens through the work of social justice. With insightful observations about what it means for someone genderqueer to navigate a world based on gendered binaries, compounded by compassionate and nuanced examinations of interactional modes of individual and collective oppression, Bacon offers a framework that absolves us of shame while providing ways in which we can work together toward a more collective healing. “None of us reading this book is doing it without a body,” they write. “Belonging is fundamentally about bodies, and thus so is justice and injustice. When harm is inflicted upon someone, it is not abstract; it is material. It is inflicted on a body or a group of bodies.” Bacon has found their voice in this book—and it’s a voice we all need to hear right now.
August 16, 2024
Not going to buy books off Instagram recommendations anymore without proper due diligence.
This says nothing at all that you haven’t heard from a TikTok video, an Instagram carousel, or a YouTube essay. If it’s the first time that you engage with these concepts, perhaps you might get something out of it, but I still would not recommend it as an introductory text.
No spice or flavour. It reads like a blog article or a newsletter quickly written down, or notes for a public speaking engagement than an actual book with a narrative. It’s a repository for current buzzwords in the wellness-self-help-social justice space.
This says nothing at all that you haven’t heard from a TikTok video, an Instagram carousel, or a YouTube essay. If it’s the first time that you engage with these concepts, perhaps you might get something out of it, but I still would not recommend it as an introductory text.
No spice or flavour. It reads like a blog article or a newsletter quickly written down, or notes for a public speaking engagement than an actual book with a narrative. It’s a repository for current buzzwords in the wellness-self-help-social justice space.
March 10, 2021
A powerful book, and an essential read for anyone's who's ready and willing to push back against the societal structures that prevent people with marginalised bodies and identities — including People of Colour, queer and transgender people, people in fat bodies, people with disabilities, and neurodiverse people — from being fully welcomed and celebrated in our world. Dr Lindo Bacon brings their wealth of academic experience and their passion for social justice to this remarkable book, which exudes both wisdom and compassion from every page.
November 4, 2021
This book was fine. Respect the representation but there was nothing revolutionary. Talked a lot about accepting your body. I know that is Lindo's expertise but I went in thinking this book would have a more holistic approach to radical belonging.
April 13, 2022
With the bs that Lindo has pulled, revealing their racism and fatphobia, I no longer feel good about this book. It makes me wonder who they stepped on and took advantage of to put this out.
December 7, 2022
This was very helpful especially if you're someone who's experience of therapy or the mental health industrial complex has lacked the nuance displayed in 'Radical Belonging'. A lot of the actual therapeutic advice is very standard, but Bacon affirms marginalised experiences of oppression and links liberation from them as a part of this practice. Some of the science is a bit dated/dubious, but I think in this context the information was just good common sense so it doesn't matter too much. Overall, I liked this and found it valuable.
May 12, 2022
3.5 stars rounding up...
I think this is important content and conversations to have with valuable exercises included but something about it didn't gel for me. A lot of it is not new to me, having read both her previous books and also being a huge Brene Brown fan and having read a lot on anti-racism in the past couple years.
There are a couple sections I found helpful in my work as an Intuitive Eating Coach but I don't think the overall message was very cohesive.
I think this is important content and conversations to have with valuable exercises included but something about it didn't gel for me. A lot of it is not new to me, having read both her previous books and also being a huge Brene Brown fan and having read a lot on anti-racism in the past couple years.
There are a couple sections I found helpful in my work as an Intuitive Eating Coach but I don't think the overall message was very cohesive.
March 15, 2022
Radical Belonging is full of interesting personal experience, actionable ideas, and important information. Where it fails, I think, is in its writing style. There is a whole chapter on why self-help books don't work, and yet it reads like a surface-level self-help book, despite the content not being surface level at all. Don't get me wrong-- I found much of this book relatable and it literally helped me take action in several situations and aspects of my life. I just feel that, given the way it is written, it could have been a Huffington Post feature or a Moth podcast rather than an entire book. What could have been an entire book, with just as much of an effect, is a narrative memoire where the author still comes to conclusions and gives life advice, but in a much more personal, experience-driven way. Also, the Audible version is not great-- it adds to that inauthentic self-help trope, and not in a good way.
June 9, 2022
I adore Lindo Bacon and have enjoyed their work in the past. I heard an interview with them on a podcast and immediately purchased this book, because their words really resonated with me.
Radical Belonging is NOT a self-help book because Dr. Bacon firmly believes that putting the onus on individuals to help themselves within a world filled with oppressive structures is counterproductive. It's about practicing self-compassion and fostering belonging in an imperfect world and working toward improving it for everyone, especially those with marginalized identities.
I enjoyed this book, but I did find it a bit scattered at times. I think it could have used a bit more editing. Other than that, it was a great read.
Radical Belonging is NOT a self-help book because Dr. Bacon firmly believes that putting the onus on individuals to help themselves within a world filled with oppressive structures is counterproductive. It's about practicing self-compassion and fostering belonging in an imperfect world and working toward improving it for everyone, especially those with marginalized identities.
I enjoyed this book, but I did find it a bit scattered at times. I think it could have used a bit more editing. Other than that, it was a great read.
August 3, 2021
This book is perfect!
Nothing that I could think of to say would be enough of a glowing review! Just read it! You will not be sorry!
Nothing that I could think of to say would be enough of a glowing review! Just read it! You will not be sorry!
February 18, 2021
This book is a must read for those interested in Body Liberation and Social Justice. If you are in a helping professions, this should be a book you read and re read. Lindo has an incredible ability to weave authentic and vulnerable stories that connect you to the science of biology and trauma. This is thoughtful, scientific, guiding, and so beautifully done.
February 24, 2021
I feel like I highlighted this entire book. I have been waiting for this for years, for all my clients who have asked for a book recommendation that actually considers marginalized communities in the context of eating disorders and diet culture. It hit close to home and challenged me to look at all the ways I need to continue to grow. It’s an absolute work of art.
March 16, 2021
I really enjoyed how this book connected so many different forms of oppression and really emphasized the value of community care. It’s reassuring to read a book that emphasizes that self-help in itself is not enough to fix all our problems while larger inequities persist!
December 22, 2020
Thought provoking with thoughts of tools of how to learn to belong in your body in an unjust/judgemental world
March 31, 2021
Honestly this book was only "ok" but I wanted to like it so bad I'm going to give it three stars. I think it'll probably be five stars for the right reader, I just wasn't her. I personally found the book so boring that I had to switch from physical book to audiobook halfway through but I was SO PERSONALLY INVESTED in supporting Lindo that I BOUGHT the audiobook.
This title caught my eye because I'm always thinking about "radical acceptance" so I thought this book might be about that. It's actually not but it is sort of a general self help book and I do like sort of general self help too. I got hyped when I read the introduction because I thought Lindo might bring a unique perspective.
The best parts of this book is when the author relates personal anecdotes. Unfortunately they were few and far between.
I ultimately didn't feel that the author brought anything unique to the world with this book. If you are a person who doesn't unusually read self help books or books by leftists, you will probably get a lot of new ideas from this book but I'm surrounded by leftists constantly and frankly I hate reading what we write most of the time, it's just so neurotic.
The worst part of this book is when they do that classic leftist thing and bend themselves into pretzels trying to include everyone and exclude no one. I get why we do it but it's so annoying and I wish we could somehow just stop. Like, maybe at the beginning of the book there could be an asterisk that says "All simple words have big leftists meanings, don't try to catch me out"
I read a lot of self help books so for me to LIKE one nowadays, it has to say something unique or be funny or go really deep on something I haven't thought about... This book does none of those things. This book is a general overview of lots of subjects. It will probably be the favorite book of a college sophomore this year. This book might have flipped my lid when I was 13.
It really isn't a bad book, it's an ok book, maybe even good, it just wasn't for me. Might be a good book to recommend to a young person who is having a vaguely hard time and can't quite put their finger on it. This defines and clarifies a myriad of issues that people struggle with and gives several good ideas about coping.
This title caught my eye because I'm always thinking about "radical acceptance" so I thought this book might be about that. It's actually not but it is sort of a general self help book and I do like sort of general self help too. I got hyped when I read the introduction because I thought Lindo might bring a unique perspective.
The best parts of this book is when the author relates personal anecdotes. Unfortunately they were few and far between.
I ultimately didn't feel that the author brought anything unique to the world with this book. If you are a person who doesn't unusually read self help books or books by leftists, you will probably get a lot of new ideas from this book but I'm surrounded by leftists constantly and frankly I hate reading what we write most of the time, it's just so neurotic.
The worst part of this book is when they do that classic leftist thing and bend themselves into pretzels trying to include everyone and exclude no one. I get why we do it but it's so annoying and I wish we could somehow just stop. Like, maybe at the beginning of the book there could be an asterisk that says "All simple words have big leftists meanings, don't try to catch me out"
I read a lot of self help books so for me to LIKE one nowadays, it has to say something unique or be funny or go really deep on something I haven't thought about... This book does none of those things. This book is a general overview of lots of subjects. It will probably be the favorite book of a college sophomore this year. This book might have flipped my lid when I was 13.
It really isn't a bad book, it's an ok book, maybe even good, it just wasn't for me. Might be a good book to recommend to a young person who is having a vaguely hard time and can't quite put their finger on it. This defines and clarifies a myriad of issues that people struggle with and gives several good ideas about coping.
March 28, 2021
Bacon's book helps us challenge the conditioning of our inner voices, especially of marginalized people, asking us to question the narrative, and actually to rewrite the narrative by finding community among others who are in the same or similar situations. Bacon's worldview is ultimately one of healing through service and connection, and that is a very compelling and reassuring position. Part of me still wanted to be handed the solutions in a neat little package, as in with Chapter 10, Building Resilience. Rather than reading about how addictive behaviours and cravings can be transformative, I wanted concrete steps on excactly HOW to turn my craving for chocolate into a manageable and not dominant thought process, one of many thoughts, like how important it is to pay the electric bill, and how maybe I am up to taking the dog out for a walk. But I suppose there are no easy answers, and Bacon is wise and transparent enough not to peddle false answers but to offer up some new questions we can ask ourselves in order to get where we want to be. Worth a read, especially if you are gender non-conforming, BIPOC or fat and want to rethink some of the messages you've internalized from societal norms.
December 31, 2020
This is a book I wish I had, had when I was going into College and finally allowed to learn who I really was. Along with finding where I belonged, and would be treated accepted as I was.
The mix of storytelling and science is the kind of thing I love in Non-Fiction works. It allows me to take so much more from the writing then I would otherwise, and Lindo Bacon does a magnificent job of it.
The one things I would recommend is to purchase a physical copy as it was incredibly difficult to read this on kindle due to some symbols not be recognized and foot notes showing up in places that were not helpful.
The mix of storytelling and science is the kind of thing I love in Non-Fiction works. It allows me to take so much more from the writing then I would otherwise, and Lindo Bacon does a magnificent job of it.
The one things I would recommend is to purchase a physical copy as it was incredibly difficult to read this on kindle due to some symbols not be recognized and foot notes showing up in places that were not helpful.
March 2, 2021
I found the first few chapters of this book really strong: well-grounded in analyses of systemic injustices and how they are embodied. The book fell apart for me as it then began to lean so heavily, like most do these days, on the over-biologization of trauma and collective life. Why is the only narrative available to us the saber tooth tiger thing? How does this separate us from our humanity and a clear analysis of the social & political world that we co-create? Doesn't this in many ways let us off the hook? Granted, this is my pet peeve as a sociologist, and not something Bacon has to be responsible for. But that's definitely what lost my interest and connection as the book wore on.
September 13, 2024
I'm both a psychologist and a yoga instructor, and this is my first book from this author. I pretty much agreed with all of the information that they presented, but I didn't always like their writing style. There are A LOT of personal stories - that can definitely make the material more relatable, but in this case, I thought it made the book feel more like a memoir, almost a personal confessional. I also found the writing to be quite repetitive - so much so that the exact same sentence would appear a few paragraphs later. I definitely think the content of this book is valuable, and there is certainly an audience for it, but it won't be for everyone.
March 12, 2022
A very comprehensive view of the consequences and considerations of an individual being accepted or not. The author, who is genderqueer, has a doctorate in physiology and a masters in psychotherapy. So they talk about everything from biology, to sociology, to psychology to show how not being accepted affects someone’s physical and mental health, etc. There were times when the justification or science seemed a little flimsy. But you feel this is maybe out of a choice of brevity more than missing the legitimacy. It gave me lots of things to think about.
Read
June 13, 2021Lindo Bacon is the author of the 2010 classic, Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight. In many ways, Radical Belonging is an expansion of the ideas in that book toseveral marginalized identities. This is ultimately a self-help book, but focused equally on changing the inner self and the outer world.
This book would be lovely gift for anyone starting out on a new phase of life or otherwise coming to terms with issues of identity.
This book would be lovely gift for anyone starting out on a new phase of life or otherwise coming to terms with issues of identity.
March 4, 2022
Listened to the Audible version narrated by LaQuita James.
It felt like an academic read, which I wasnt quite prepared to listen to. I will need to read it a couple times to fully process the book, and I'm prepared to do that. What I loved about this edition is that Ijeoma Oluo, another person in a marginalized group wrote the forward. With this listen, Audible supported a marginalized group by asking LaQuita James to narrate the book for us to hear.
It felt like an academic read, which I wasnt quite prepared to listen to. I will need to read it a couple times to fully process the book, and I'm prepared to do that. What I loved about this edition is that Ijeoma Oluo, another person in a marginalized group wrote the forward. With this listen, Audible supported a marginalized group by asking LaQuita James to narrate the book for us to hear.
May 8, 2023
I listened to this brilliant audiobook, and it was deeply affirming to my weird struggles to find where I belonged, and gave me the keys to providing that belonging to myself (while still pushing for safe spaces for all of us.) So much that I had felt and theorized in my own brain was spelt out precisely and thoughtfully in these pages. I'll be recommending this widely, and probably grabbing a print version to highlight and study more deeply.
dnf-did-not-finish
June 1, 2023Did not finish book. Stopped at 1%.
The preface written in April 2020 seems more focused on the trauma of the precautions & more focused on the pandemic as precautions instead of a virus that needs to be eradicated. So even though there's a social model of disability involved & interconnectedness taken mind to, it comes off as pandemic denialism when acting like the precautions are the trauma instead of the disease.
The preface written in April 2020 seems more focused on the trauma of the precautions & more focused on the pandemic as precautions instead of a virus that needs to be eradicated. So even though there's a social model of disability involved & interconnectedness taken mind to, it comes off as pandemic denialism when acting like the precautions are the trauma instead of the disease.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews