emBody: ED Talks #4: The Story of My Body--by Adele G.

My amazing, beautiful, talented friend, Dana, has created this blog that I think is one of the most uplifting and inspiring things on the internet today. In a world where we are constantly told what is "wrong" with our bodies, this blog celebrates what gifts they are, explores the mind-body-spirit connection, and promotes healing and strength for anyone who battles eating disorders or other struggles with his/her body.

At the encouragement of family and friends, this is my piece that I wrote for her blog. It was difficult to organize the jumble of thoughts in my brain that had bumped around for decades, but it was worth it. If you struggle when you look in the mirror - or know someone that does - you need to check out this blog. Echoing the blog's intro: "Healing is possible. Living is the reward."


emBody: ED Talks #4: The Story of My Body--by Adele G.: I went on my first diet was when I was eleven years old. I was tired of being the “chubby one” in the family. Tired of having a pot belly ...

Today I finished a book

When I was in college, knee-deep in reading assignments, projects, work, the three-mile hike to the grocery store (at least it seemed that long....), I looked forward to the day when I could read for leisure.  I still have to pinch myself when I remember that the time for leisure reading has come.  As it goes in "Meet the Robinsons," "The Future Has Arrived"!  The problem is, now that I have time for leisure reading, I am running out of things to read.

The library has a pretty good selection, but I usually have to wait until the stuff I want becomes available, so I still need books in the meantime.  I do like to reread the books I have (Beauty is one I've read tons of times, and most of Jane Austen's works), but sometimes I want something new, so I look through the books that make up our library at home (i.e. the shelf in hallway).  Some of the books I've grabbed have been duds that I couldn't even finish ("Colorado Weddings" was one of those, but then again, what did I expect from the title, Shakespeare??).  So I was a little unsure if I should bother taking one from the shelf at home, or occupy myself with a wordsearch. 


I decided to take along the copy we have of The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.  I remembered my mom had read it and thought it was good, so I thought I'd try it out.  Well, as I started it yesterday, I was hooked.  I have time to read during my breaks at work, and I found this one hard to put down when my breaks ended.  I became so engrossed in the story (a 14-year-old white girl breaks her black housekeeper out of jail during 1964 and they escape to a small town where they live with three black beekeeping sisters, and she discovers the truth about her mother who was killed when she was four - that's a cruddy synopsis, but you'll just have to read it for yourself!), and nearly cried during certain passages, which wasn't the most convenient thing to do since I was surrounded by co-workers while I read.  There were so many beautiful quotes, I wish I had a highlighter pencil for those lines.  Needless to say, I was engrossed by the story.  It helped to pass the time during my work breaks, but I couldn't save it only for work - I read the rest of it today after I got home.  A beautiful, touching story that was not only enjoyable to read, but thought-provoking as well.  I know I'll definitely read it again.

Now I need to find another book to read....