Cravings

How I Conquered Food

By: Judy Collins

Narrated by: Judy Collins

A no-holds-barred account of folk legend Judy Collins's harrowing struggle with compulsive overeating and of the journey that led her to a solution.

Since childhood Judy Collins has had a tumultuous, fraught relationship with food. Her issues with overeating nearly claimed her career and her life. For decades she thought she simply lacked self-discipline. She tried nearly every diet plan that exists, often turning to alcohol to dull the pain of yet another failed attempt to control her seemingly insatiable cravings.

Today, Judy knows she suffers from an addiction to sugar and grains, flour and wheat. She adheres to a strict diet of unprocessed foods consumed in carefully measured portions. This solution has allowed her to maintain a healthy weight for years, to enjoy the glow of good health, and to attain peace of mind.

Alternating between chapters on her life and those of the many diet gurus she has encountered along the way (Atkins, Jean Nidetch of Weight Watchers, Andrew Weil, to name a few), Cravings is the culmination of Judy's genuine desire to share what she's learned - so that no one else has navigate her heart-rending path to recovery.

©2017 Judy Collins (P)2017 Brilliance Audio

What a life she lived!

I had not heard of the author before listening. Her personal story is filled with many mountains, valleys and struggles, and it amazes me she didn't lose her life along the way. I enjoyed the chapters in between her story learning much about the history of people involved in diets, anonymous support groups, etc...

I did not want this book to end

A joy to listen too. I had no idea of all the struggles.
Thank you for sharing and doing the reading yourself.
it made it all the more powerful God Bless.

Definitely NOT a Book about eating disorders

This is, in, no way shape or form a book about overcoming eating disorders. The author never once went into any sort of detail or specifics about her eating disorder and her battles with it. The only mention of it was to say “I was eating and binging”, Or “couldn’t get enough food”. And that was only a couple of times in 25 chapters. By chapter 17 (out of 25 chapters), I was frustrated and annoyed. I had literally heard nothing about her eating disorder other than vague mentions of “I love to eat sugar and carbs or I was eating and purging“. Bychapter 19 I was ready to give up because this was clearly not a book about overcoming eating disorders, but I only stuck with it because I thought surely she couldn’t sell a book that is supposed to be about overcoming food and not mention how she overcame food and her battles with food. I can say I got through the entire book and there was nothing about her eating disorder. However this is a book about her life, her music, the songs she wrote, her marriage and her affairs, her son committing suicide, her alcoholism, and her finding her way out of that through AA. It is also a book about famous diets and their creators. She went through every famous diet back to the 18th century and described in detail the personal and professional life of the creator/founder of the diet. If you are interested in Judy Collins’ life outside of her eating disorder, then it’s a mildly interesting read.

Dissapointed

What disappointed you about Cravings?

I was expecting a heartfelt novel about the author's battle with Food Addiction, in which I am also in recovery from. Instead the book was filled with an uninteresting history of different food gurus, teachers, and celebrities with splices of her own story throughout.

What could Judy Collins have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Stick to her own autobiography and keep the focus on food, health, and her personal struggles and triumphs.

How could the performance have been better?

Her voice was a bit annoying and condescending.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The author seemed genuine and positive.