The Eating Instinct, Virginia SoleSmith
The Eating Instinct, Virginia SoleSmith
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The Eating Instinct
Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America

Author: Virginia Sole-Smith

Narrator: Julie McKay

Unabridged: 8 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/13/2018


Synopsis

An exploration, both personal and deeply reported, of how we learn to eat in today's toxic food culture.

Food is supposed to sustain and nourish us. Eating well, any doctor will tell you, is the best way to take care of yourself. Feeding well, any human will tell you, is the most important job a mother has. But for too many of us, food now feels dangerous. We parse every bite we eat as good or bad, and judge our own worth accordingly. When her newborn daughter stopped eating after a medical crisis, Virginia Sole-Smith spent two years teaching her how to feel safe around food again—and in the process, realized just how many of us are struggling to do the same thing.

The Eating Instinct visits kitchen tables around America to tell Sole-Smith's own story, as well as the stories of women recovering from weight loss surgery, of people who eat only nine foods, of families with unlimited grocery budgets and those on food stamps. Every struggle is unique. But Sole-Smith shows how they're also all products of our modern food culture. And they're all asking the same questions: How did we learn to eat this way? Why is it so hard to feel good about food? And how can we make it better?

About Virginia Sole-Smith

Virginia Sole-Smith is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Slate, and Elle. She is also a contributing editor with Parents Magazine. She lives with her husband and two daughters in the Hudson Valley.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Thomas on September 16, 2024

3.5 stars A varied set of essays about food culture and people’s difficulties with eating. There was a lot of focus on children who struggle with food and eating, which I wasn’t expecting though I found interesting and compelling. Virginia Sole-Smith addresses a variety of topics, including orthorexi......more

Goodreads review by roxi on February 26, 2020

This was at times a heart-breaking book to read with emotional stories that mention issues of eating that had never crossed my mind. In truth, I was expecting a much different book than what I read. This was much more personal rather than numbers and facts. It's made me think about eating in other c......more

Goodreads review by Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) on February 02, 2020

4.0 Stars This was a timely piece of non fiction that explored the different ways that people struggle to eat. From classic eating disorders to people with food fears, this book felt very comprehensive and well researched. I especially appreciated that the author acknowledged thin white privilege and......more