Flowfit

Author’s Synopsis:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women–mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends–view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

In my opinion:

I loved this book!  It made me laugh out loud, cry and as usual with historical fiction – made me want to learn more about a place in time.  In this case, Jackson Mississippi in the late 1960′s.   Although I wouldn’t call The Help a full on historical fiction, it does vividly portray a portion what life was like in Jackson Mississippi – with focus being on the women – women of wealthy white families and their maids.  The clever thing about this book is that it gives you multiple perspectives.

The characters are rich and believable.  You’ll be cheering for some characters and wanting to spit on others.  There are some very raw emotions here, but Kathryn Stockett has a way of weaving humour into the raw moments with her incredible conversational like writing style!

Absolutely a GREAT pick for book club discussions.

Hauntingly beautiful

This book touched my heart and sent me on a search for more information on the roundup in France.  A piece of history that sadly, I had no idea about.  The story is richly written with strong characters and vivid visuals – some lovely, some horrific.

One of my favorite books of the year!

Enjoy!

From back of book…

If you can’t take one more day of self-loathing, you’re ready to hear the truth: You cannot keep shoveling the same crap into your mouth every day and expect to lose weight.

Authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin are your new smart-mouthed girlfriends who won’t mince words and will finally tell you the truth about what you’re feeding yourself. And they’ll guide you on making intelligent and educated decisions about food. They may be bitches, but they are skinny bitches. And you’ll be one too-after you get with the program and start eating right.

In my opinion…

These girls are more than direct and don’t waste any time with prettying it up – which for some, may be a little shocking.  I was able to appreciate the amount of information packed into this little book and laugh at the tongue in cheek language.  I seriously laughed out loud and very much enjoyed the quick read.  That said, it’s not for everyone.

If you’ve been curious about where our food comes from and what we’ve all been eating that is causing so much obesity in both adults and children, this is a good beginning.  I’ll tell you, it is quite a shocking realization!

Warning!  If you are okay with reading “F”-bombs as well as other savory words, you’ll be fine with this book.   If in your face language offends you, open this book to the first chapter.  If you’ve turned the page smiling, you’ll love this book!

Editorial Review:

In The Kind Diet, actress, activist, and committed conservationist Alicia Silverstone shares the insights that encouraged her to swear off meat and dairy forever, and outlines the spectacular benefits of adopting a plant-based diet, from effortless weight loss to clear skin, off-the-chart energy, and smooth digestion. She explains how meat, fish, milk, and cheese—the very foods we’ve been taught to regard as the cornerstone of good nutrition—are actually the culprits behind escalating rates of disease and the cause of dire, potentially permanent damage to our ecology.

Yet going meat- and dairy-free doesn’t mean suffering deprivation; to the contrary, The Kind Diet introduces irresistibly delicious food that satisfies on every level—it even includes amazing desserts to keep the most stubborn sweet tooth happy. Alicia also addresses the nutritional concerns faced by many who are new to a plant-based diet, and shows how to cover every nutritional base, from protein to calcium and beyond.

Alicia knows that changing life-long dietary habits is a process, and that each person progresses at a different pace. For that reason, The Kind Diet encompasses 3 separate levels, from Flirting to Superhero. Flirts learn to dip a toe into the vegan pool, reducing their meat-eating and swapping out a few key foods for plant-based substitutes to see quickly how even small changes can reap big results. Vegans get to experience the life-altering effects of forgoing animal-products entirely, while still enjoying many convenience foods and meat substitutes in addition to the wonderful grains, vegetables and fruits that form the core of that diet. True enlightenment comes with the Superhero program, based on the principles of macrobiotics and built on a foundation of whole grains, vegetables, and other yummy foods that Alicia describes in detail.

Whether your goal is to drop a few pounds, boost your energy and metabolism, or simply save the world, Alicia provides the encouragement, the information, and the tools you need to make the transition to a plant-based diet deliciously empowering.

In my opinion…

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone is very clearly and simply written. If you are questioning what you eat and are looking for answers, this book is for you! I found it very informative and lovingly written. The recipe section in the back offers great inspiration and easy delicious vegan meals.

For more information, check out Alicia’s website:

www.thekindlife.com

Enjoy!