Customer Reviews

Good Eater: The True Story of One Man's Struggle With Binge Eating Disorder

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is about a man who grows up in a dysfuntional home and tries to make something of himself by going after all the wrong things. Number one being food and then girls, sex, jobs and even marriage. In the end though he realizes that the only thing that makes him well is realizing he will never be perfect and learning to accept himself with his flaws. I found the book very interesting. The only reason I gave it a 4 is becuase of the constant swearing. Ok, I am not a prude and I understand that at times swearing can get across the point of pain. But, the F word was used constantly and I got tired of it in the end.

This book did an excellent job of bringing a very difficult and sensitive subject to light for me. It was a great read, funny, poignant an brutally honest at times. I finished it rooting for Ron!

Ron leads you through the struggles of his childhood and how he chose to escape. FOOD!
It is truly an inspirational story that anyone can relate to.
I read a pre-release copy on a flight to Alaska and could not put it down. Each chapter is a page-turner, based on the events in Ron's life. His humor comes through in the writing and that makes the book a light read on this heavy subject.
This is not a "how to recover" book, it is one man's struggle and how he survived.
No matter what your reading interest, and even if you are not interested in the subject of eating disorders, this is a book that is worth picking up and hard to put down.
Enjoy. Paul

"The Good Eater" is the autobiography of Ron Saxen, a man who for most of his life struggled with an eating problem known as "binge eating disorder." The book charts Saxen's life, from his abusive childhood, to his erratic early and mid-adulthood, to his present day situation. When it comes to binge eating disorder, Ron Saxen is the real deal. No one reading this book will say, 'Meh, you call THAT binge eating?'. Saxen clearly documents the reasons and motivations behind his binges, the foods he preferred to consume, and his feelings before and after the binges. Also chronicled are his bouts of weight gain and weight loss, and his account reflects how frighteningly quick a person with binge eating disorder can pack on the pounds. We find out that Saxen had an extremely brief stint as a male model (four paid modeling jobs), because even though his future in modeling looked promising, his eating disorder held more power than the desire to see his dreams come true. This is the hallmark of a serious eating disorder sufferer.

The book, however, did disappoint on several levels. Most serious was the lack of time devoted to Saxen's recovery. At 252 pages, the number of pages describing his healing/recovery from his eating disorder is exactly four... that's four PAGES, not four chapters. If your interest in this book is to read one man's journey to freedom from eating disorder, this would not be your book.

The other disappointment came from a nagging feeling felt early on in the book; a suspicion that it was "padded" (deliberately extended in length). For example, Saxen's descriptions of his early family life are lengthy. More lengthy than is necessary for a book about an eating disorder. In fact, throughout much of it, I wondered to myself what this book was supposed to have as its purpose. Finally on page 250, we gain insight. Saxen tells his wife that he has always wanted to write a book about himself. He asks her, "...do I really have enough material for a book?" That same page also has him "combing the aisles of a large bookstore, hoping something would... help me increase my project from a booklet to a book." Saxen then writes that he "browsed through (different areas of the bookstore), looking for angles to lengthen my book." In fact, Saxen admits he didn't know what the focus of his book would be until that fateful trip to the bookstore (where he found a book on bingeing and decided that would be his 'hook')... he just knew that he wanted to write about himself!

Your enjoyment of this book may be different from mine. If you have voyeuristic tendencies regarding small details of average people's lives, you may enjoy this book. For me, when I read an autobiography, my hope is to take something away from it... a little nugget of truth or piece of learning. Some inspiration perhaps. Or at least experience the thrill of a riveting story. Personally, "The Good Eater" disappointed on all accounts. Not an awful book, but not worthy of the few hours of my life spent reading it.

The inspirational book, The Good Eater, is a candid and absorbing memoir of author Ron Saxen's struggle with BED (binge eating disorder). The author's revealing recollections of his life are often hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. The Good Eater is well paced and written in an entertaining conversational style. Highly recommended!

After reading The Good Eater it has encouraged me to lose weight. I have tried several times to lose weight but for some reason after reading Ron's story it has made me aware of the problem and has given me what I needed to take control of myself and take care of my problem. I like the way Ron adds humor to the book but also keeps you aware of how serious of a subject this is. I give the book a five star rating and a two thumbs up. Well worth the money!

When I read a blurb in NEWSWEEK a few months ago about Binge Eating Disorder and Ron Saxen's book, I was quick to pre-order the book. Binge Eating Disorder (BED)is becoming more and more common, yet, very few books address this problem. I expected THE GOOD EATER to be the salvation that held all the keys to unlock the mysteries of BED. THE GOOD EATER was a very different book than I expected. It is really the story of Ron Saxen's life and struggles and his use of food for comfort. A very difficult childhood left him emotionally vacant and lacking in self-confidence. He turned to food and gained and lost weight for years. At one point, he lost enough weight to be signed with a modeling agency and the chance for a promising career. Despite the successful start to his career, he was still overweight and unattractive in his mind. For an emotional eater, handling success can be harder than handling failure. Ron turned to food and gained weight and left his modeling career behind him. For the next 20 years he struggles with various careers, including as a stand up comedian. He even briefly joins the Marines. In a search for love and acceptance, he enters into an unhappy marriage. 20 years after his modeling career, he finds the strength and the love to turn his life around and have a proper relationship with food. The book really is not self-help in nature but the brutally honest story of one man's struggle with food. Ron tells it like it is and rarely is the story pretty. There is hope in his dedication and determination. It's hard to let go of the past and our childhoods can haunt us forever. Only in the last few pages is the issue of binge eating addressed. If you suffer from binge eating disorder, THE GOOD EATER isn't your salvation but there is comfort in knowing you are not alone. It's easy to relate to Ron's downward slide into uncontrollable binge eating. Food was his best friend and gave him temporary relief from the emotional pain of life. His journey is heartbreaking but there is hope around the corner for all of us.

Ron Saxen's The Good Eater is one of the first, if not first, books written about binge eating from the perspective of a male. When reading the book I could vividly see the events playing out and the impact on Ron and his family.

Ron's work has inspired me to move forward in my own personal journey to confront binge eating and the emotions that drive me to binge. That alone should be the true test of the book and in my opinion it passes with an A+.

This book was quite the page turner for anyone with an eating disorder, or just wanting to understand an eating disorder. The amazing story of one man's journey not only with binge eating but with life itself. It is very easy for me to read a book and stop if the book doesn't grab me. I was awake all night reading this witty any exceptionally well written book. Hooray Ron, you've got me hooked!

The good eater is a inspiring story and a crisp, fast read. You share a variety of emotions with the author. There are tears, smiles, and sometimes a bit of anger as you read about his life and struggle with BED.
It is a heartfelt story that gives you a inside glimpse of the author and how he conqured his demons. He writes with truth, strength and a sense of humor. The good eater gives the reader the chance to share in the heatache of BED and rejoice in the recovery. A must read.