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hannahkeg 's review for:
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Hi Casey Johnston, were you trying to rip me open emotionally? Or are we pretending this is just informative nonfiction...?
As someone already engaging a lot with health science/eating disorder content (books, podcasts, etc), I felt very prepared for this one and nothing really shocked me. What made a difference for me in this book, as compared to that other content, was her perspective and the balance she struck between gym stories, personal struggles, and science. I felt so connected with her in the human moments before and between the gym journey- like crying in the best buy bathroom or trying to stay safe as a woman on dating apps- that by the end of the book I was thinking "okay how is this going to translate for her in the gym?" (yes correct, I do now hate myself lol)
Her chapters and descriptions of her eating, especially in the bulking and cutting chapters, could absolutely be sensitive to anyone who has struggled with eating. However I don't necessarily fault her for that. This is, above all, her story ABOUT struggling with eating and exercise. The small moments describing her mindset while eating or her disentangling her emotional responses from food were both stressful and kind of comforting (for someone experiencing the same journey), and if anything I wanted more of these moments and less of the handbook-style calorie numbers and protein descriptions. While the science throughout the book was very informative, it was her emotions and like personhood that kept me engaged.
And I just want to give it up for the chapters involving her mom. If it hurt as much to experience and write about as it did to read (probably more), Casey my dear I'm sending you flowers. And let's include the dad chapters in there too because what the hell man. Those were beautiful and DEEPLY sad chapters. Starting the book with avoiding your dad's calls in college and not knowing why your consciously doing it and having us find out slowly, over the course of your lifting journey, the completely understandable reasons for avoiding that relationship?? stab me in the CHEST. It read almost like a real therapy journey- with lifting being the therapy- where at the start, all you know is the feelings and physical response and by the end, your brain has processed and delivered all of the details and reasons in HD clarity. I have read some reviews of this book saying they disliked the jumping around and disorganization of the content, but honestly that was the best thing about this book!
All in all, I really loved this story! It is definitely not for everyone, but it was (unfortunately) for me. If I start lifting in 2025, mind your business <3
thank you netgalley and grand central publishing for the audio arc!
As someone already engaging a lot with health science/eating disorder content (books, podcasts, etc), I felt very prepared for this one and nothing really shocked me. What made a difference for me in this book, as compared to that other content, was her perspective and the balance she struck between gym stories, personal struggles, and science. I felt so connected with her in the human moments before and between the gym journey- like crying in the best buy bathroom or trying to stay safe as a woman on dating apps- that by the end of the book I was thinking "okay how is this going to translate for her in the gym?" (yes correct, I do now hate myself lol)
Her chapters and descriptions of her eating, especially in the bulking and cutting chapters, could absolutely be sensitive to anyone who has struggled with eating. However I don't necessarily fault her for that. This is, above all, her story ABOUT struggling with eating and exercise. The small moments describing her mindset while eating or her disentangling her emotional responses from food were both stressful and kind of comforting (for someone experiencing the same journey), and if anything I wanted more of these moments and less of the handbook-style calorie numbers and protein descriptions. While the science throughout the book was very informative, it was her emotions and like personhood that kept me engaged.
And I just want to give it up for the chapters involving her mom. If it hurt as much to experience and write about as it did to read (probably more), Casey my dear I'm sending you flowers. And let's include the dad chapters in there too because what the hell man. Those were beautiful and DEEPLY sad chapters. Starting the book with avoiding your dad's calls in college and not knowing why your consciously doing it and having us find out slowly, over the course of your lifting journey, the completely understandable reasons for avoiding that relationship?? stab me in the CHEST. It read almost like a real therapy journey- with lifting being the therapy- where at the start, all you know is the feelings and physical response and by the end, your brain has processed and delivered all of the details and reasons in HD clarity. I have read some reviews of this book saying they disliked the jumping around and disorganization of the content, but honestly that was the best thing about this book!
All in all, I really loved this story! It is definitely not for everyone, but it was (unfortunately) for me. If I start lifting in 2025, mind your business <3
thank you netgalley and grand central publishing for the audio arc!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship