Summer Reads

Of all the diversion of life, there is none so proper to fill up its empty space as the reading of useful and entertaining authors. – Joseph Addison

Along with the lazy, hazy days of summer I enjoy reading a good book. This summer has been no exception and I have had the opportunity to read a few books – not as many as I would have liked to though. The summer is still young with just over four weeks left. Below I have listed two books I really enjoyed reading and why they left an impact on me. If you have read them let me know your thoughts…

Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth

Over the last few months I have spent a lot of my free time reading and rereading Geneen Roth’s book Women, Food and God. This is not the first book I have read by Roth, but the one that is guiding, leading, showing me my way back to the core of who I am.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly to any woman who has struggled with an addiction. Roth writes about food, but you could substitute food with any obsession that is holding you prisoner in your life and not letting you live to your fullest potential.

I can relate to the stories she tells and the examples she gives about herself and other women who have been held hostage by their food issues. She has the answers that I have been searching for almost 30 years. Her message is of hope and her solution does not come in pill, diet or exercise regime. It is not about being harder on myself, but being kinder and gentler to who I am and the body I have.

Since I began reading this book in May I have felt many feeling that I have used food to cover. I have cried, I have laughed, I have been angry. I am coming to peace with a lot of events, issues and situations – the stories I have told myself over the years. The stories that have happen in my life that I have been reliving over and over and over again. I am learning for the first time what it is to feel and that my feeling won’t kill me. I will not die. For me I have been hiding, running, stuffing my feeling because I have believed that they would kill me. These are the lies I have told myself. What I have learnt is the irony of the situation I am living in – I have already lived through the events, situations and issues that I believe will hurt me I don’t need to fear it anymore because the stories are in my past – not my present. I am living my present with one foot in the past and the other foot in the future and using food to numb myself.

In one word this book has given me freedom. I am learning to live consciously, which is a process. I need to be vigilant and remind myself on a daily basis and sometimes on a minute-by-minute basis, to be present. To live my life moment by moment and not be dreading past or fearing my future. For readers who are interested there is a Companion Guide for Women, Food and God on Oprah.com.

The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

There was a buzz on my facebook home page last summer about The Time Traveler’s Wife. My friends called the book a classic that you can’t put it down. I wholeheartedly agree. I picked up this book and I couldn’t put it down. Niffenegger tells the tale about Claire and Henry. Their story is about faith, hope and love.

When I was reading the book I could relate to the storyline, not because I am married to a time traveller but because I am married to a military member. My husband comes in and out of my life. He lives a life I know very little about. He goes to places I have never been. When he leaves I have no idea when he is coming back or when I will see him again. In some cases there has been an “if” I will see him again. Over the years I have had to adapt to living with someone who is here one day and could be called away the next.

The book is great and as usual better than the movie; however, if you want to cheat you can rent the movie. There is nothing wrong with staring at Eric Bana for two hours.