And there were those moments where I felt distanced from the author – probably caused by wealth and race issues. She states, “When you’re overweight, people never really see you for yourself because they already marked you as different.” That seemed odd to me. Another generalization because unlike the author, many fat people have friends who do see them for themselves. And many fat folks have fat –- and skinny-- friends who don’t judge them. There was also the section on her decision to have elective plastic surgery. Hey, no one I know can afford regular surgery, much less plastic surgery.
But these are just nits. Never Say Diet is definitely a good book, and it will help many people. I found, however, that I liked the Never Say Diet Fitness Trainer workbook better than the main book. Perhaps because the workbook travels along with the dieter -– yeah, I’ll say the word — on the journey. We all know that when we’ve finished reading one of these non-diets diet books we often simply put it aside. A journaling workbook is always good. And the Bible Scripture definitely helps.
The second book in this selection is Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight 52 Amazing Ways to Master the Art of Personal Change by Karen Scalf Linamen. Like all self-help books, this one also claims to be different. And like all self-help books, it is different… in its own way. We all know that we can read a thousand self-help books but we will not change unless something happens that somehow causes us to commit to the change. Whether it’s a magical moment, an embarrassing or painful moment (as happened in the case of the author of the aforementioned non-diet book) or a growing enlightenment, change is a mysterious thing. Who knows for sure how and why people accomplish a change or even decide to change?
Linamen has written this book dedicated to answering what it means to change effectively, how and why change happens, and the technique and art of changing. Part anecdotal personal history, part spiritual coach book, and mostly a collection of insightful ideas, this 190-page book is an easy read. It’s insightful without being pretentious and personal without appearing self-indulgent. The great thing about the techniques learned here is that they can be applied to any situation: financial change, job change, change from bad habits, and lifestyle changes. If one needs a jumpstart or a continuing nudge of encouragement, this is the little book to do it.
It’s written in a funny, conversational and chatty style and each anecdote perfectly supports the technique it’s meant to describe. The insights are timeless. I have only one small nit about this book: the author does a lot of title-dropping. It’s obvious she wants to give credit to some good books that have helped her in her walk. But I found it a bit distracting. I would’ve liked to see them all listed in the same place in the appendix.
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