THE SATISFIED WORKBOOK

A writer offers a companion volume to her spiritual work about food.

Epstein’s guide serves as an adjunct to Satisfied (2018), which seeks to help readers modify their relationships to food. These two books deal with the frustrations readers face regarding such issues as food addiction, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia, when “the diets just aren't working, your therapy isn’t enough, medication hasn’t fixed you, the fancy brand-name programs aren’t doing it, and even prayer and Bible study don’t seem to be cutting it.” To help those who find themselves in such a spot, the author has fashioned an approach patterned after the 12-step recovery process pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous and designed to help readers end addictive eating once and for all. Mirroring the AA model, the manual tells readers suffering from such problems that the very first thing they must do is admit that they’re powerless over food. Readers looking for a credo based on responsibility and self-control have come to the wrong book; Epstein’s work is entirely based on pathology. In each of her volume’s sections, she deftly provides readers with copious discussion and contemplation prompts in the form of checklists, “recovery questions,” and many inspirational quotes drawn from Christian Scripture. This last element runs throughout the absorbing guide, with the author often suggesting prayers for her readers to emulate: “Lord, thank You for this day and for the freedom I have in you. Please keep me free today from compulsive overeating and obsessive thinking about food and my body size.” Epstein includes enough prose supporting these prompts to give this book the ability to stand on its own. Although the author’s discussion questions and checklists are nothing readers couldn’t generate on their own, many readers will doubtless find the structure in these pages very helpful in focusing their recovery efforts.

An involving and encouraging Christian workbook for overcoming eating problems.