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5.0

ONE OF MY TOP 3 FAVORITE read-in-2022 BOOKS!

This book is astonishingly good. It, and [b:The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing|22318578|The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing|Marie Kondō|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418767178l/22318578._SX50_.jpg|41711738] (TLCMoTU), are the only two self-help publications I've ever read that had me nodding "yes" throughout, because everything made sense. Both of them are very positive and practical in their approach. There's no shaming, no platitudes, no vague instructions that are impossible to follow. Unlike Kondo's very repetitive* book (and most of the self-help genre), Carr's is quite concise: I never felt that I was reading the same thing over and over. Repetition, where it was used, clearly served to deepen and reinforce what was being taught -- it was not just a filler to cover up the fact that the authors had nothing much to say.

Easy Way to Quit Emotional Eating reads like a conversation with a supportive friend or teacher. I never felt attacked or talked down to, which allowed me to challenge and change my thinking instead of looking for defensive counter-arguments. I tend to find nonfiction/self-help works preachy, overwhelming, simplistic, ridiculous, or boring. This book had me excited to start the next chapter! At times I even giggled with relief while reading!

There are 20 chapters total, each of them brief and easy to read. The book does not rely on the extraneous graphics, "personal stories," and fluff that is so typical for the genre. Each chapter is presented with a quick preview summary. Major conclusions are typographically highlighted, and any headings used in the book actually pertain to what is being discussed, making previous lessons easy to reference.

For years I've been hearing good things about [b:The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Nonsmokers Using the Easyway Method|6618|The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Join the Millions Who Have Become Nonsmokers Using the Easyway Method|Allen Carr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1311743516l/6618._SY75_.jpg|9875]. Years ago I actually gave a copy to a friend, who was able to quit smoking (easily and permanently) after many fruitless prior attempts. I'm so glad I finally decided to see if Allen Carr could help me with my emotional eating problem. I'm grateful to him (and John Dicey, who carries the Easyway torch with dignity and class after Mr. Carr's death). Here's to the rest of our lives... and FREEDOM :)

* I believe that TLCMoTU probably worked on me precisely because it repeats its message over and over, so that by the end I was getting quite tired of reading the same thing again, thinking: yeah, yeah, I know! ... I was raring to get started.