The book's title lives up to its promise
Customer Rating: 
This book was written with a plus-sized audience in mind. Nevertheless, I honestly feel that the information contained within will help slightly overweight (or even normal-weight) women just as much as plus-sized ones; either way, in today's society, the reality or the specter of "excess" weight causes us emotional pain.
Since having two children, I've struggled with a weight gain of 25 pounds. Medically, at a size 12, I'm considered "overfat," between normal and obese. I've been beating myself up over my weight for a long time. I've been on many diets (never any extreme ones) and I'd have some success until I got frustrated with the "slow" results and then would find old habits, along with the weight, creeping back. In all honesty, ultimately I would still like to lose a bit of weight.
But here's the interesting thing, at least for me. In doing the exercises in the book, I slowly began to convince myself emotionally that my personal value was a thing quite apart from my weight, something I always knew intellectually, but still didn't completely believe in some corner of my mind. And a growing appreciation for the unique person that I am got me doing things like searching out high-end consignment shops to find beautiful, well-made and flattering clothes, exercising...not with the goal of losing weight, but as a way of taking care of myself..., and eating moderately, but for pleasure (only delicious food need apply for consumption). I had the self-respect to reject any possible diet/activity changes unless I could answer "yes" to the question "Am I willing to do this for the rest of my life if I never lose a pound?"
And without ever feeling like I've been "trying" to lose weight, I found my clothes getting a bit looser, got curious and discovered I've lost seven pounds, over a period of about two months. The wonderful thing is that because I've simply been focusing on taking care of myself, on a number of different levels, the result of weight loss isn't really the point. It's just a nice little bonus.
The other book I've read during this time to help me understand where the creed of thinness came from in the first place was Never Too Thin: Why Women Are at War with their Bodies by Roberta Pollack Seid, Ph.D. There were so many passages in that book that resonated with me, particularly in the chapters that dealt with the decades of my lifespan. It helped me to put the issue of weight into a more constructive perspective.
I particularly appreciated Learning Curves for encouraging women to get to know themselves, to treasure themselves and finally to take what they've applied and live, whether through quiet example or through active outreaching, as a role model for other women and young girls who haven't yet made or are just beginning their journey.
Good idea, well executed - shame about the illustrations
Customer Rating: 
As you can see by my rating, I liked this inspirational book about self-acceptance. It focuses on plus-sized women, but most of the advice could be utilised by people who could benefit from improved self-esteem in other areas. The authors have included self-esteem-building exercises, which complement the message of the text. I particularly liked the stories from successful, well-adjusted women who wrote about their own struggles with acceptance of themselves, and by their families and the wider community - strong, uncompromising, successful women. I was disappointed, then, to find that the illustrations (photographs and drawings), almost without exception portrayed women who are average-sized or smaller. I found this particulalry inappropriate in the section of dressing to reflect your style and best features - the women drawn would have looked attractive in sackcloth! Other than this quiblle, I found this book interesting and worthwhile.
