Results Not Typical: A Novel, By Catherine Ryan Howard, Reviewed by Leslie Langtry

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Leslie Langtry

Emmy’s life might be the penultimate conundrum. Struggling with her weight for years, she works for Slimmit – a company who’s slogan is, “You’re Fat, and We Know It!” Hidden away in the basement where no one will ever see her because of a performance review that stated she was ‘unacceptably beyond Appearance Policy parameters,’ Emmy handles travel arrangements for a fleet of stunningly (and weirdly – glowing) thin waifs who would make any Stepford Wife commit sepulchu out of shame.

Slimmit – a leader in the weight-loss and regret industry is run by two women who mainline an impressive array of questionable chemical diet pills and purge as if it were their chosen, artistic medium.
Marianne is Slimmit’s Director of Slimming. Thin and beautiful, with a weird penchant for using furniture polish on her hair to make it shine, Marianne’s one goal in life is to make Nicola Darcy, Slimmit’s CEO, fat and miserable.

Nicola Darcy is struggling to keep it together – and by “it” I mean the contents of her stomach and the control of her company. For some reason, she’s taken up binge eating on the weekends – which she tops off with a dose of humiliation and ill-fitting shapewear on Monday morning. This self-made woman is literally coming apart at the seams.

Who hasn’t been through this? The other day, I did a tv interview – which I regretfully dvr-ed and watched (which was followed by complete deletion and a string of expletives that startled the cat). My once, thin (dare I say ‘swanlike?’) neck was missing – in fact, a puffer fish (fully inflated and slightly less lethal) with a goiter appeared where my neck and head had once been. I looked fatnormous.

Women struggle with weight issues – it’s a fact of life, dammit. And that’s why I loved this book – it’s a clever satire on the weight-loss industry with lots of twists and turns and some damn good surprises in the end. There’s corporate espionage, sexual intrigue, celebrities, and a heroine who, like me, enjoys the occasional (okay, okay! Frequent,) pint of Ben & Jerry’s and says, “Tomorrow I’ll eat right and exercise” into a mirror without crying (or swearing creatively).

Catherine Ryan Howard’s book is funny, thought-provoking, suspenseful and utterly relatable. And right now, it’s only 99 cents, sinfully good and 100% calorie free…that is, unless you eat ice cream while reading it…which I did.

Oh well. It was worth it.

Wellness Wednesday: Play to Your Strengths

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Elizabeth Cordes, D.O.

juggle-earth1 Each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves. ~Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

Women are wonderful and peculiar creatures. Despite unprecedented opportunities in all spheres of daily living, women are becoming increasingly unhappy, less satisfied, and less fulfilled in their lives. We got lost on the path to “having it all” when we believed that the only way to do so was to be perfectly balanced and accomplished in all areas: wife, mother, career, civic, and social. Because of this distorted belief, women have experienced unnecessary feelings of failure, self-doubt, and shame. When presented with an assessment of strengths and weaknesses, most women will immediately look to remediate their weakness instead of looking to use their strengths to their advantage. While this approach may be the proper path to becoming “balanced”, it is unlikely to lead to happiness or contentment. The answer might be found in becoming strategically unbalanced; that is, by shifting our lives more heavily to our areas of strength.
In his book, Find Your Strongest Life, Mr. Buckingham provides a different model for “having it all” (defined as “drawing enough strength from life to feel fulfilled, loved, successful, and in control) then provides a set of different “Strength” based tactics to accomplish this. He utilizes an online strength assessment to help determine “the role you were born to play.” (www.stronglifetest.com) Overall, this book is very accessible, addresses numerous real-life situations faced by today’s women, and provides workable solutions and suggestions for all. The shift in focus from “Balance” to “Fullness” by focusing on “capturing moments that bring strength” feels both intuitive and empowering. This book will be beneficial for all women who are stuck in the search for “elusive perfection” amid the bounty of choices available to us.
What areas of your life make you feel strong? What could you do to capitalize more fully on your strengths?

Friend or Frenemy?

Posted on January 26, 2009 by malenalott

Friend or Frenemy? A Guide to the Friends You Need and the Ones You Don’t by Andrea Lavinthal & Jessica Rozler

First line: “There was a time, a simpler time, when turning sweet sixteen meant keys to your mom’s Buick instead of keys to a brand new Beemer, McDreamy was just a frozen dessert at McDonald’s, and a few things were certain: George Michael was straight, starlets kept their privates private (unless, of course, they were making a very “artistic” film), and most importantly you knew exactly who your friends were.”

Friends. For me, you can’t live without ‘em. Good friends can be better than family, and in some cases a helluva lot better than family. Friend or Frenemy digs in to the issue of friends, not with a pitchfork, but with a pink-handled shovel. It’s humorous and spot-on and I dare anyone to go away from reading and not feel like you identified a few friends or frenemies from your current or past relationships and even – gasp – noticed some of those things in yourself. (Only the good parts, eh?)

Lavinthal and Rozler do a suberb job of offering advice and insight about the friends we love, so-called friends we should lose and how to be a better friend ourselves. Even the funny stuff – like never letting your friends leave the house in Crocs unless they are gardening or working as a nurse – balance out the heavier issues like – duh – don’t sleep with your best friend’s mate, even after your friend’s relationship is over. These authors know that girls love to analyze, and I found myself doing that throughout the book. I adore my girlfriends – the ones who go “way back” and even the new ones I’ve met through Facebook who I’d love to meet in person someday. I am thankful that mutiple times my best friend ignored the advances of my ex-boyfriends. And I didn’t even have to tell her how I felt about it. That’s what friends are for.

For: A must-read about great friends, not-so-good friends and how to make the most of the friendships we treasure. – Malena Lott

Buy it at Amazon.