This month I read:
Life, Lemons and Melons by Alice-May Purkiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I bought this book before my secondary diagnosis. Aside from our ages, the fact that Alice is married/younger than me, and I have triple positive cancer … oh and I didn’t bother with fertility treatment/recon … much of this book I nodded along to as she discusses the reality of treatments, the fear underlying everything, questions of body image and depression mixed in with cancer .. and seeking to write things out, joy in social media, finding humour in the mess, seeking to educate others! The book is written in a blog styled way, mixing vulnerability and humour as we try to find a way through the mess that is cancer – and how it will define us for ever (and we shouldn’t assume that that is negative), nor will it necessarily be a thing that means we’re so grateful for life that the depression disappears … and that mix of emotions as we’re told what seems to be good news but leaves us confused and still crying! Thanks Alice.
Beyond Chocolate: How to stop yo-yo dieting and lose weight for good by Sophie Boss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first came across this book in 2009, so 10 years later I decided to re-read and reground myself in the material that I’ve found life-changing 10 years later. It’s amazing how many positives have been embedded within my life … crisps go out of date in the cupboard, cake is not eaten just because ‘it’s cake’, I’ve found ‘moving’ that is enjoyable … and it’s more about adding to life (rainbows of food, life-enhancing, stuff), than restricting and taking away!
How to Say Goodbye by Katy Colins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this, thought the characterisation worked well, and as someone who’s been forced to think about death etc enjoyed the way the story was put together…. despite the theme of funerals/death etc it wasn’t a heavy read.
Body of Truth: How Science, History, and Culture Drive Our Obsession with Weight–and What We Can Do about It by Harriet Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I found this a really powerful read. So much research is funded by the diet industry that there’s much less research out there that challenges what seems ‘normal knowledge’ around food, weight, and obesity that finds so much place within the media. This account draws upon a huge range of academic studies to demonstrate that there are other ways of thinking, especially the notion that we could focus much more upon health than upon weight.
