Feeding the Hungry Heart: The Experience of Emotional Eating (Paperback)

by Geneen Roth (Author) "I was in high school, eleventh grade..." (more)
Key Phrases: compulsive eating, thunder thighs, New York, Richard Pepper, Fat Wanda (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is how Geneen Roth remembers her time as an emotional overeater and self-starver. After years of struggle, Roth finally broke free from the destructive cycle of bingeing and purging. In the two decades since her triumph, she has gone on to help tens of thousands of others do the same through her lectures, workshops, and retreats. Those she has met during this time have shared stories that are both heartrending and inspiring, which Roth has gathered for this unique book.

Twenty years after its original publication, Feeding the Hungry Heart continues to inspire women and men, helping them win the battle against a hunger that goes deeper than a need for food.

About the Author
Geneen Roth is the bestselling author of Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating and When Food Is Love. She conducts workshops and retreats on issues of self-esteem, eating, diet, and intimacy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Plume (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452270839
• ISBN-13: 978-0452270831
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,082 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Response to the person who said it's a waste of money, January 3, 2001

By	Mrs. Arizona US 2000 (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

I am sorry you thought this book was a waste of money. This is not the book to read if you are looking for a diet. "Where are the answers?" you say...

Well, the answers are in the stories of these women who have struggled with the agony of a shameful addiction.

This book is so totally anti-diet. Anti-depriving yourself. It's about being good to yourself, maybe for the first time ever.

It's about figuring out WHY, so you can then work toward healing.

The author was not whining. She was simply telling her story, her truth. She tells her story about food, weight, shame, dieting, and the torment of being teased by other kids, in a touching, yet humorous manner.

Maybe you have not suffered the pain of addiction, possibly? I don't know.

I am in a position to give some advice because I identified with many of the women in this book. I suffered for years with food problems and I am finally free. My heart aches for people who are still struggling. This book has helped me in my battle to start being good to myself.

Do yourself a favor, forget about dieting. Eat what you want when you are truly hungry for food. Don't listen to people who tell you you are too fat. Make exercise fun. Enjoy your food, enjoy moving your body. Enjoy life.

Be good to you.

There's you answer.

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It'll Let You Know You Aren't Alone, February 8, 2004

By A Customer

I first came across Geneen Roth's books in the early 1990s, as a college student. I'd gone away for school and gained sixty pounds. Deep down, I knew that I had a problem with food, and it wasn't something I could solve on my own. My problem was as serious as that of an alcoholic or drug addict, and food was my drug of choice. When I read Feeding the Hungry Heart, I learned for the first time that I wasn't alone, that I wasn't a freak, that other people, mostly women, had felt the same way I felt. And most importantly, that they'd come through the experience and found a way to be healthy with food. If you suspect that you have a problem with food, try reading this book. Don't expect to find diets or even suggestions for overcoming the problem. If you view your overeating as an addiction, this book is really the first step to recovery. Use it to help yourself admit that you're addicted to food, and then move on to Roth's other books, especially When Food Is Love and Breaking Free from Emotional Eating. They'll help you get a better sense of specific steps you can take. I did what I'm recommending ten years ago, and over several years, I overcame my obsession with food and lost the sixty pounds I'd gained. I didn't do it by dieting or restricting myself from eating anything. And it didn't happen quickly. I'm also fully aware that my relationship to food is just like an addict's relationship to alcohol. It doesn't go away. In fact, in stressful periods of my life, I've turned to food for solace and gained weight again. But this time, the difference is that I know what I'm doing and why. I know why I'm turning to food. And I know what it can't and won't ever be able to give me. Anyone who tells you that it's just a matter of calories in vs. calories out or who recommends that you "just get over it" doesn't understand that food is, for many people, not an issue of physical hunger, but of emotional hunger.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I read this book over 20 times, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

I have struggled with my weight for most of my 31 years. I bought this book a few years ago and it showed me that I am not crazy - other women have had the same thoughts and actions that I have...Thank God! Whenever I start to feel overwieght or even THINK about going on another diet, I read this book and it puts me right back on track. I loved this book. LOVED it. It has significantly affected the way I view my body and the way I treat myself now.