Ariane > Recent Status Updates

I’m about a third of the way through and just decided to set this aside (permanently?) It’s really doing nothing for me - I don’t enjoy these sorts of stories (grim, societal collapse) or her style (dry, full of vagueness). I almost never quit books, but am feeling very “life’s too short” these days, and I don’t want to spend the holidays slogging through it.

I let this book sit on my shelf unread for years. I'm reading it now, on week 3. I get it now. It's changing things.

Still blowing my mind. I can't even post quotations because I'd be posting something from every single page.

This book is blowing my mind. It's tying together so many different elements I've been learning about separately - how childhood experiences affect health, mind body connection, and many specifics about chronic illness. I'm totally enthralled.

This book is tough to get through. I don't like the vibe of it - it gets very blame-y in parts (as in, sickness is caused by your poor lifestyle choices!). There a lot of content that is too basic/common sense, and not related to diet at all. And a lot of it is very prescriptive but leaves no room for people who aren't able to do the obvious things *because* of their illness.

I was lost on chapter 14 until the end. Have had so many conversations like this - with my dad, with strangers. Men who talk over me, who have zero interest in hearing what I have to say. I couldn't see where she was going with this chapter until the end of it, which was very satisfying. "I left the copy shop frustrated and upset. He was just another man who wanted to teach me something."

I still have no idea where this book is going but I'm feeling slightly more compelled to keep reading it (despite the horrid reviews).

"Trying without doing is wishing rather than choosing. You either have a plan in place or you are choosing not to act. 'This being the case, how shall I proceed?' is a Zen saying that shows the automatic, assertive progression from circumstance to action." Yes!!!

Actually just read the foreword. My friend who passed away recently recommended this book to me earlier in the year. I promised myself that I would actually read the three books she recommended as a little way to say thanks and honour her. The author says the core of how to become an adult is to make the "heroic journey from ineffective habits through adult responsibility to spiritual consciousness." Sounds bang on.

First half of this book has been better than expected and very entertaining. I'm slowing down a bit now that I'm halfway, but hoping there are still some surprises and enlightenments to come...

"Why do men put on their shoes so slowly" is another gem. I've never thought about this before but it's so true.

The chapter "Someone explain one night stands to me" is hilarious. I feel ya, Mindy. I'm about 2/3 through the book now, and it's been completely meandering but a pleasure.

Forgot to log this book! It's a light and funny read so far, definitely enjoying it!

"So I consciously moved my mind to loving kindness, silently repeating, 'Dear sweet, innocent body, working so hard to support me.'... I got off the wheel of suffering. I was free from aversion to my illness and from all that can follow from that aversion--for example, becoming and being reborn as a bitter and resentful person."

"My heart is big enough to hold this fear."

I relate SO much to this right now: "I realize...that I just need to take care of myself. It doesn't matter if I finish my courses at school, it [or] if I have to put off plans for another year. For right now, all my focus just needs to be about me -- gradually nurturing myself back to health...This is the body I have, this is the environment I live in, so what can I do for myself to make it easier to be here?"

Scary + familiar. "I'm feeling increasingly tired, depressed, out of sorts...I start reading [about] the conditions for adrenal failure...when your adrenal glands stop producing cortisol, your body doesn't register this until you are 90 percent depleted...you just think you're a bit tired, a bit dizzy, a bit nauseated...[but] the resource we use to deal with stress...has very slowly disappeared. And then you die."

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. Everyone should read this book. It's my experience of the healthcare system and intestinal problems multiplied by 100 times the badness.

I am seriously having trouble getting through this book. So much ideological non-science, vegan rhetoric, etc. I really like parts of her work and I want to like the book, but... Also, a lot of the dietary advice is the opposite of what's good for anyone with digestive issues. So high fiber, it would make me horribly sick if I tried to follow it.

Finally picked this back up, and went through and caught up on the worksheets. Quote from pg 162: "A lot of the time it's better to quit than to be the hero." - J. Fried + D. Heinemeier Hamsson

I don't know if I'd get much out of this at any other time in my life. Having just left a job I thought was "the one" but fell out of love with, having no idea what's next, it really fits. So far so good. Pg 22/23 "Be careful what you're good at--you could end up doing it for years... Just because you can, doesn't mean you should... If it doesn't light you up, you're not the right person for the job."

there's been a lot about "worry" (ie. about future things) and "rumination" (ie. about the past). i like it in a weird way, when i realize "dang it, i'm ruminating again" because i'm pretty sure that's what it's called when cows chew and chew and chew and chew on something.

I'm really enjoying this so far. Autobiographical account of being diagnosed with Parkinsons and then breast cancer, and how she copes with both and starts enjoying life again.

Still going strong... so much teenage angst and smart writing!

I am enjoying this waaaay too much. Perfect book for reading over the holidays.

Not getting much better...

Pretty good/funny - might be better if I was more familiar with the originals.

So far really slow, repetitive, and not very informative.

LOVE. So much inspiration.