279 pg, (hardcover) ‘05

Although eating disorders and body image issues are serious problems for adolescent girls, many women over 30 are also caught in body image distress, overexercising, compulsive dieting, and obsessions about “good” and “bad” foods. With poignant, real-life stories, this breakthrough book talks openly and honestly about these often-secret concerns and offers exercises, reflections, and other self-help strategies to help mature women reclaim their lives.

Clinical psychologist Margo Maine has been successfully helping adult women overcome eating disorders and body image problems for over twenty years. Using poignant real-life stories, Dr. Maine explores the complex emotional, social, and cultural forces that perpetuate the Body Myth. A unique and invaluable source of information and inspiration, this guide equips readers with the knowledge and tools to escape the clutches of the myth and to live a more balanced, fulfilling life.

CONTENTS:

1 – The Changing Shape of Womanhood
2 – Fact verses Fiction: How Survival Shapes the Body
3 – Women’s Bodies, Women’s Lives
4 – The Shape of Eating Disorders
5 – So Why Do People Do It?
6 – How Family Shapes Us
7 – The New Extended Family: How Culture Shapes Us
8 – The Shape of Recovery
9 – Thinking and Coping in New Ways
10 – Embracing Our Selves

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Margo Maine, PhD, is cofounder of the Maine & Weinstein Specialty Group, LLC, and a clinical psychologist who has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders for more than two decades. She is a clinical consultant to and former director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, and a Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Maine is a founder of the National Eating Disorders Association and the Academy for Eating Disorders, and she serves on the boards of the National Eating Disorders Screening Program as well as Dads and Daughters.

Joe Kelly is a journalist, activist, and author of Dads and Daughters. He won the 2004 Award for Action from the Eating Disorders Coalition.

REVIEWS:

"This book can save your life! In a bold and honest analysis, Dr. Margo Maine and Joe Kelly offer a beautiful balance of truth and inspiration that invites you to release yourself from the trappings of the Body Myth and come home to your magnificent self."
 —Jeanine C. Cogan, PhD, Policy Director of the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action

"Margo Maine and Joe Kelly have written a must-read. This book says what so many women are feeling but don't dare say, and offers responsible guidance and help for those who don't dare ask. The Body Myth puts it all on the table with incredible intelligence, compassion, and support."
 —Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association

"The Body Myth exposes the multiple stresses in our current culture that contribute to eating disorders and then describes what women can do to become empowered in the world."
 —Pauline S. Powers, MD, President of the Eating Disorders Association and author of The Exercise Balance.