The Writing Diet

The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size
Julia Cameron
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2007

Julia Cameron is not someone I would have expected to write a book on dieting. Well-known for her books on writing, this subject seemed out of character for her. How did writing and dieting fit together I wondered when I came across The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size.

From reading the front inside flap, I discovered that Cameron had noticed that students in her writing classes would often lose weight during the course, leading her to believe that creativity can block overeating. Recently I, a compulsive overeater, had taken several on-line writing classes and discovered that when I got into the flow of writing an essay, I would often forget about food for hours at a time. That Cameron had written a book that connected with my own experience made it a must-read for me.

It quickly became clear that Cameron has wrestled – and is still wrestling – with weight problems herself. Her sympathy with and compassion for those struggling to achieve control over food is apparent in The Writing Diet. She very accurately and sometimes humorously describes the thoughts and feelings that are common to those of us with weight/eating concerns, almost as if she is reading our minds.

The tools she offers include writing morning pages and a journal, but she includes several excellent non-writing tools as well. The section on “Situations and Solutions” is very comprehensive, and most of us can relate all too well to what she writes about in each of the chapters. She encourages us to forgive ourselves when we DO slip up and eat too much or something we know we shouldn’t. Best of all are the “Tasks” that follow each chapter, most of which involve writing.

This is a diet book that does not include food lists, tables, charts, or menus. It is about using creativity (writing in particular) to discover why we overeat and to fill in the empty emotional spaces that many of us have been filling with too much or the wrong food. It turned out to be THE book for a writer wannabe and compulsive overeater like myself. I devoured it in just two sittings and plan on having seconds soon - of the book, that is!

Comments

[Jim Coffee]

Hi Carol...

Consider reconfiguring (at least for the moment, to a two column layout...perhaps one that is fluid. This will permit your actual content column to be wide.

Up to you. This is part of the art of it.

Good job.

-Jim-