Tagged: body image
Living with Your Body and Other Things You Hate by Emily Sandoz and Troy DuFrene
(Cover picture courtesy of Target.)
Let’s be honest: most people are unhappy with at least some aspect of their physical appearance. Just think of all the money we spend each year trying to improve our looks! But if worrying about your appearance is getting in the way of living, maybe it’s time to start thinking about body image in a completely new way.
Based in proven-effective acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Living with Your Body and Other Things You Hate offers a unique approach to addressing your struggle with body image. In this book, you will not be told that your self-perceptions are wrong, that your thoughts are irrational, or that your feelings are misguided. Instead, you will learn to live with the reality that these often painful thoughts and beliefs about yourself will arise from time to time, and that what is really important is accepting these distressing thoughts without allowing them to dominate your life.
You know what it’s like to constantly be checking the mirror, to avoid certain social situations where your body may be exposed, or to gaze longingly at a fashion model in a magazine and think, “Why can’t I be her?” But what you may not know is that people who struggle with negative body image are at an increased risk for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. Body image problems can even lead to major financial issues. By focusing on your appearance and little else, you are hurting yourself in more ways than one.
If you are ready to find a purpose in life that is more important than the pain you feel about your appearance, this book provides a truthful, powerful resource.
*Possible body image related triggers*
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ll be honest with you guys: this was one of the hardest books I’ve ever had to read. I picked it up on NetGalley with the intention of reading it and keeping my thoughts to myself because like a lot of people, I’ve struggled with my body image for a long time. However I felt I had to share my thoughts on the book.
While I don’t necessarily think this book is for everyone, it certainly helped me. It taught me how your attention span can either be scattered or stuck and that being stuck on your appearance can affect your whole life in ways you’ve never really noticed. It taught me how to accept my appearance and not be repulsed by the areas of my body that I hate. In truth, it taught me so much more than that but those are the main areas that I felt are important if you want to decide to buy the book or not.
What makes this book effective is that after every little section there’s an activity you can choose to do to help you in your body image journey. There’s audio tapes you can download to go along with these exercises and if you’re serious about the book I’d highly recommend using them. Yes, some of these exercises are going to bring up painful memories. Yet some of them will bring up a time way back when you were a child that wasn’t concerned with your body image. It’ll teach you how to accept that sometimes you’ll feel badly about your body and that those thoughts are okay as long as you stop letting them run your life.
Really, there’s not much more I can say. Living with Your Body and Other Things You Hate is one of the more effective self-help books I’ve personally read and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with giving it a try. It worked for me but it might not work for everyone.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Starlet’s Light by Carla J. Hanna
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Young Hollywood actress, Liana Marie Michael, gives up the fight until she sees the light.
Isolated on set in the United Kingdom, Lia struggles through the 5 Stages of Grief while shooting her last feature film. Cancer survivor, Oscar winner, and victim of several crimes, Lia sinks into despair as her heart fails. With supportive childhood friend Manuel Biro, and the help from Swiss billionaire-heir Pierre Lambert, Lia is ‘so done’ with acting and learns that she needs more than just a man’s love to prevail.
STARLET’S LIGHT is a touching story of Lia’s struggle with trust and commitment as she shapes the role she plays in her own life.
[Full disclosure: I received a free print copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
Remember how yesterday I said Starlet’s Run was better than the first book, Starlet’s Web? Well Starlet’s Light is better than both! The overall quality of writing is better, the characters are better as they mature and Carla Hanna’s message comes through loud and clear but not in an obnoxious manner.
Finally Lia sets off on her own away from Manuel for a change and she also meets Pierre. I hope I’m not spoiling too much when I say that a love triangle happens. Yes, I was inwardly cringing when I thought I knew what Carla Hanna was doing to Lia’s love life, but she had such an amazing twist on the love triangle that all was forgiven. In fact, more authors should do love triangles that way. It would certainly make for more interesting books and less one dimensional characters.
But while there is quite a bit of romance going on, Lia emerges as a character that isn’t completely dependent on the men in her life. She has her own interests, both loves and hates her career as an actress and struggles to control her life despite her failing health. Lia grew quite a bit in the first and second books in the series, but it’s really Starlet’s Light where she becomes a memorable character. She doesn’t have it easy and you can really feel her suffering, but with the help of her friends and her spirituality she makes it through to a sort of acceptance of her condition. Her realization at the end of the novel only makes you connect with her more. Lia’s far from perfect and she realizes that, making her my favourite character in the series.
As I said about the first two books, this is not a book you read for the plot. No, this is a book you read for the message as well as the characters. And believe me, the message is terrifying as we get to see even more about how horrible Hollywood is behind the scenes. I had my own terrifying realization as well while reading this: I’m fat. My dear little sister, who is described as a stick by pretty much everyone who sees her is fat. Why? Because we’re not that Hollywood size 0. Now, this didn’t make my self esteem plunge so much as make me realize how cookie-cutter the Hollywood ideal is. Seriously, Lia’s skewed view of beauty in the beginning is terrifying once it’s pointed out to you as a reader and it sends the message home better than any PSA or Dove Self-Esteem Project video.
If you haven’t started the series yet, I’d highly recommend it. Even for those of us who don’t like romance in general, the Starlet series is still a worthwhile read. If you like great main characters who actually grow throughout the series, you’ll love it. And, of course, if you’ve already read the first two books you’ll love the third installment of the series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
At 20four12 Today
Well, by the time you’re reading this I’m on the road travelling, but for posting purposes today I’m posting at 20four12. I went outside Caleb’s usual reviewing material and chose to review Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, a great story for young girls who are struggling with their self-esteem. It’s also a great story for older girls and women who struggle with their body-image. So go on over and check it out! While you’re at it, check out what Caleb usually reviews. He has read more science fiction in one year than I will likely ever read!
Extras by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
A few years after rebel Tally Youngblood takes down the Specials regime, a cultural renaissance sweeps the world. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. Popularity rules, and everyone craves fame.
Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse is no exception. But Aya’s face rank is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance at stardom is to kick a wild and unexpected story.
Then she stumbles upon a big secret. Aya knows she is on the cusp of celebrity. But the information she is about to disclose will change both her fate…and that of a brave new world.
If you’ve read the first three books in the Uglies trilogy (which was turned into a series with the release of this book), you will get so much more enjoyment out of Extras. You’ll be able to see just how different Tally’s world has become and yet how much it is like our own world. In Aya’s world, popularity rules. The more popular you are, the more credits you get and the better your life is. But anyone who is not popular—which is most of the population—is an extra, a nobody. Does this remind anyone of high school?
What really stands out in Extras (for me at least) is the explosion of new technologies since Specials. Since practically no one over 16 is a bubblehead anymore, intelligence has been allowed to flourish and Scott Westerfeld describes the new advances in spectacular detail. With all of that new technology and freedom, “surges”—or surgeries—have also become popular, especially the extreme kind. It is a credit to Scott Westerfeld’s world-building abilities that he includes all kinds of people who change their bodies to create their idea of ‘true beauty.’ I find it fascinating what people choose to look like in Aya’s world since they are allowed to change themselves into whoever they want.
As usual, Scott Westerfled’s characterization is spot-on. Many readers will sympathize with Aya because she is the voice of teenage insecurity. Surrounded by beautiful people and being nothing more than an unimportant, faceless extra has really taken its toll on her. As a result, many teenagers will sympathize with her insecurities and will cheer her on as the plot speeds along.
I give this book 4/5 stars.