Ok, I didn't realize how famous this book was when I first got it. Apparently it's a brand with a documentary and Oprah and everyone else behind it. Sorry, I didn't realize that.
I picked it up recently because it was on sale and I was looking for some diet/nutrition books that were women-friendly and wife-friendly, and upbeat. I was looking for something inspiring to stick with the program since I have four kids and a busy life, and have tried whole food diets many times without being able to stick to them long term.
In that area, Kris Corr delivers. She is upbeat and encourages you to stick to the program. What I didn't realize from the front cover was that it was going to be a book on how to become a vegan. It also includes all the more radical steps like enemas, colonics, kale smoothies, dry brushing, neti (sinus irrigation), etc. I am not sure I would have picked it up if I knew that, since I was looking for more of the moderate whole food approach. She's also anti-gluten, anti-chemical (i.e. anti coffee, anti-alcohol, anti-prescriptions, anti-Maybelline) and pro-raw. This may not be doable for everybody. Still, she does make it sound compelling and offers ideas of how to start. And she does give ideas if you're going to compromise a little. She says she still has a bottle of Advil in her cabinet for emergencies and makes a point to talk about enjoying your life, even when that means a glass of wine here or there. So I appreciated that.
I also appreciated her section on alkalinity. It made a lot of sense and had some great tips on how to begin alkanalizing your body. She did say radical things like oats and brown rice weren't as healthy for you, which always raises a yellow flag for me. I always worry that that kind of distinction can lead into the mentality that your diet is never strict enough. But then she has the health to back up her statements, so I can't pontificate too much about that! I appreciated her points anyway.
I did not appreciate, however, what a potty mouth she was. For someone who got into finding her spiritual side and weeding out stinking thinking, her language sure seems contradictory. She is trying to be good-natured and encouraging, I know, but there were enough swear words in it that I was hoping my kids wouldn't oversee. I was also a little unsure about lending it to some of my more reserved mom friends. I give her full, full credit and respect for kicking inoperable cancer and having a great attitude about it. But I think the cursing and party-girl slang everywhere made it seem TOO much like a marketing ploy. Like she's trying to force dieting to be fun and flirty by talking like a college co-ed. It is refreshing from all the science jargon that many doctorates in nutrition write, but she has all the scientific jargon in there anyway. Between s*** this and f*** that. So I found it unnecessary. She could have been upbeat and countercultural without it.
(If you like that stuff, Skinny Bitch actually does a better job anyway. This book is like Skinny Bitch in novel form!)
And I really didn't appreciate how she brought her political affiliation into the book. I am not sure why Democrats assume that only Democrats care about diet. Actually many, many conservatives are just as "back to nature" as anyone else, and saying you're a Democratic, beer-swilling party girl doesn't help the book appeal more widely to people who would otherwise read it. I am a conservative, I like sexy, and I have the same reservations she does about FDA endorsement, government policies, the corn/soy lobby, and being wasteful. I am not criticizing her for being what she is, but why bring it into a diet book? Her points could have been made with the science and good attitude alone.
So in the end, I really wrestled with whether to give this book four stars or three stars. As a diet book with good ideas and helpful descriptions of detox, it is a four. For the party-girl language and tone, I give it a three. It is strong enough to get in the way of the reading. I liked the book enough, but it wasn't what I was expecting.
