Geneen Roth has a lot of guts. I say this because it takes a lot of guts to share the things that she does in this book-- her feelings towards food, towards herself, towards her relationships. Seriously, some of the incidents she describes had me cringing with secondhand embarrassment and agony. But that is also why I like this book. Roth is brave to be so open and honest about her issues and this book will definitely resonate for those with an unhealthy relationship with food and eating. I do think it is a little thin though, and wish it went into more detail. A lot of the information here won't be anything new if you've already read some material (books or online) on binge-eating/compulsive eating, but it's insightful to read about a woman's real, personal journey through it. ( )

Essential reading for anyone with weight/eating concerns and for all parents.

This is a thoughtful examination of the significance of eating, aside from the nutritional aspects. Powerful, life changing book. ( )

This is the fourth book ( Feeding the Hungry Heart, etc.) generated by the seminars Roth conducts at her Berkeley, Calif., home for people who believe that if they were thin, they would be happy. But the author makes clear that losing weight doesn't automatically gain one success, respect and love. Roth's personal story and those of her clients as related here exemplify the need to discover why the overweight are addicted to food. Citing her own deprived childhood, the author demonstrates that gluttons seek the reliable comforts of eating instead of closeness with humans who might become abusive (like her mother) or vanish (like her father). Those bent on self-improvement will find that the book merely repeats well-known principles in a melodramatic fashion. Publishers Weekly ( )