Book Review: The Romance Diet by Destiny Allison

I love it when a book helps me discover something about myself that I need to work on. That’s what happened when I picked up The Romance Diet as part of Destiny Allison's blog tour with WOW! Women on Writing. 

The Romance Diet:

Brave, raw, and unflinchingly honest, this book is a weight loss journey, a love story, a heart beating loudly on the page. Every day we battle against something--injustice, our spouses, our weight. Seldom do we acknowledge the real wars we wage. Repressing feelings and silencing our voices, we suffer under the surface, attributing emotional distress and unwanted pounds to the inescapable effects of hormones or age.

But weight gain, anxiety, and marital difficulties aren't always so easy to explain.

In her poignant and touching memoir, Allison doesn't offer recipes, exercise tips, or advice. Instead, she shows us how to stand up, express what we want, and develop empathy for ourselves and the people we love. In doing so, she provides invaluable insight for those seeking to lose weight, save a marriage, or make a significant life change.

Includes a Readers Guide.

Review:

The Romance Diet is so much more than I expected. There are many people who could benefit from reading this book—couples who need help communicating with each other, people who are longing to have a more healthy relationship with food and exercise, those who are still dealing with the long-term effects of a traumatic incident in their lives, women who need help asserting their independence . . . the list goes on and on.

The book begins with Destiny’s realization that the injury that caused her to stop working as a metal sculptor also caused her to gain a significant amount of weight, and her husband Steve was along for the ride. Their love of rich, decadent food grows out of control until Destiny decides they need to take the first step towards making a healthy, positive change. Little does she know other things in her life would unravel because of it.

There’s a part of the book where Steve repeatedly tells Destiny that she’s sexy. She grows frustrated and longs to tell him that she’s not just a body—but a smart and capable businesswoman, artist, a writer. Reading her story brought back feelings and resentments that are buried within me as well. I too long to be complimented for my accomplishments by my spouse—and don’t get me wrong—he does do that, but he also says things like “oh they want to hire you because they’ve seen your picture,” or “you can’t expect to make too much money because you haven’t spent time climbing the corporate ladder.” Statements like that burrow deep inside me until they erupt in a resentful tirade because I grow tired of feeling disrespected. After reading The Romance Diet, I’ve started speaking up more and simply telling my husband how I feel when he makes those comments, whether he means any harm by them or not.

I’d like to point out that The Romance Diet is creative non-fiction at its finest. Destiny has a way with words that find you savoring each page and wondering what’s to come next.

Weeds intertwined with lavender stems in my neglected garden. A stinkbug meandered across a flagstone step. Like the aspen leaves on our sole surviving tree, I felt limp and colorless.

Or:

Too fat, too thin, just average. Long hair, short hair, high cheekbones, no cheekbones. Pear shaped, card shaped, hourglass. Big breasts, flat chests, the spread of hips. Like most women, I asked "Am I good enough?" a thousand ways each day.  

About the Author:
Destiny Allison was a professional and award-winning sculptor. Her work is collected by individuals, civic entities, and corporations worldwide. When an injury required her to re-envision her life, Allison did what she always does. She applied her explosive creativity and dog-with-a-bone tenacity to new endeavors.

In 2011 she was named Santa Fe Business Woman of the Year. Her community building efforts and innovative business model transformed a bankrupt shopping center into a thriving community and commercial center.

In 2012 she published her first book, Shaping Destiny: A quest for meaning in art and life. The book won best independent non-fiction/memoir in the 2013 Global Book Awards.

Since then, she has published two novels and opened a general store.

Allison believes that one’s life is one’s greatest work of art. Hence, she flows freely between mediums. Unafraid to make mistakes and always passionate, she lives in Santa Fe, NM.

More info at: www.destinyallisonbooks.com,
Facebook: Destiny Allison Books
Twitter: sfsculptor

Purchase Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Romance-Diet-Body-Image-Ourselves/dp/1632930900/

Learn more about the inspiration behind this book in this interview at WOW! Women on Writing.