Skinny Bitch Book Review
By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
Skinny Bitch is book that started it all, for me anyway. It was the summer before my senior year of college, and honestly, I was fat. Im only 5″1′ and I was weighing in at 140+. Not the picture of obesity, but I ran track in high school and I weighed 115 consistently. A 25 pound increase can make any body plump up, but especially a short girl. 3 years of college and I was on a weight lose/gain rollercoaster.I had seen the book, Skinny Bitch, several times in the store and even though I passed it by, the title always caught my attention.
So one day, when I was out of school on summer break, I gave in. I had nothing better to do and I wanted to be skinny, so I bought Skinny Bitch. Now, the tone of the book is not for every one. It is straight forward and is not written in snooty scientific journal language. Some critics discredit is as a solid introductory vegan book for that reason, but I do not think any other format would have held my attention for more than a minute.
I agreed with most of the ideas in Skinny Bitch, but I must say some of the things on the “stop eating crap list” I did not want to hear, like alcohol and soda. Hey, I only had one good year of college left! And then other things, I had always wondered about: Why do we drink cow’s milk and why do people who do not eat meat find it okay to eat fish and seafood. Sounded kind of fishy to me (Pun intended, HA HA HA).
Then came the disturbing animal facts that made me cringe in the same manner that PETA videos do. It was one thing to ignore the health risk of eating meat. I would just say, “Okay, I’ll cut back,” but I would never give it up completely. Once I started learning about the many layers of why vegans do not eat meat (health, environment, animal rights, etc.) It really started to make me think twice before putting animal products in my mouth.
When I did get to the part of Skinny Bitch that said what I could eat, I got disinterested and went back to the chapters that said what I couldn’t. Today I would probably be more open to the recipe section, but I have seen better vegan recipes. They all appeared to have tofu and meat alternatives, something many beginners do not know how to cook, not interested in learning how to cook, or do not have access to. I still hate tofu, though I will try it on occasion. And they also push a very strong organic agenda. I could barely afford my groceries, I knew my budget could not support an organic bill. Sorry, but it is true, organic food is less accessible and it cost more. I will start to buy organic as soon as I can afford it.
Overall, Skinny Bitch is a good book for the novice and those contemplating veganism. It is also a good book to give people who are opposed to veganism, because this book talks from a different voice than most. The book starts off like any other diet book. It engages the reader and before they even realize it, they are reading “one of those” books. This is how I started my transformation. College has made me a lot more open minded to a lot of things. This diet did not look like other diets out there. It actually sounded healthy and common sense. So, I tried it. And though it was not always easy, I am glad I did.
The Sweetest Vegan
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve thought about becoming vegan, but it seems like such a huge undertaking! I will def. check the book out!
Its not that hard if you do it for the right reason. I say start by reading up it. I hope you find success.
I came across this book when I was already two years into Veganism. I’ve only read a few pages and I have yet to purchase the book but from what I have browsed through, it’s pretty good.
Yeah, its pretty good, but if you have been vegan for two years, then the benefit you can get from the book may vary.