This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Michelle Petties is an author, speaker, Food Story Coach, and recovering food addict. Her first book, Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict, features powerful stories that chronicle a lifetime of eating for all the wrong reasons. After gaining and losing 700 plus pounds over four decades, Michelle finally discovered the secret to ending the battle between her mind, body, and hunger -- her Food Stories. By unlocking her own unique Food Stories, Michelle debunked long-held misconceptions and misconnections about the purpose of eating. Leaving Large won the Memoir Magazine 2022 Book Award for Inspiration. Armed with these insights, Michelle now shows others how to find their own food truths. A veteran, public media professional, Michelle lives in Annapolis, Maryland.
Reviewed by Astrid Iustulin for Readers' Favorite
When Michelle Petties started writing about her experience with food, she had thought of a cookbook, but when she finished writing Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict, she revealed a different story. More specifically, she tells many stories - 22 in all - that she appropriately calls Food Stories. In each of them, Petties discloses events in her life, accompanied by reflections and lessons learned along the way. They marked her path to overcoming the morbid obesity that haunted her for 42 years. As Petties herself says, she wrote these stories for herself, but she published them for each of us to make us all more aware of why we eat.
Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict is a book that deals with a hot topic - obesity. Petties shows us how she changed the way she manages food and does so in a delicious way. However, she does more than reveal the negative consequences of eating for the wrong reasons. The value of this book is that it explains why the problem is related to the Food Stories we tell ourselves and the memories and emotions we associate with food. This is a great discovery and lesson, and I am grateful to Michelle Petties for sharing it with us. I recommend this book to all people dissatisfied with their physical appearance and who find it impossible to reach their ideal weight. This book will help them change their perspective and hopefully solve their problem as Petties did.
