Love, Finally : Untangling the Knot Between Mothers, Daughters, and Food

A beautifully-written and profoundly healing inquiry into the complicated relationship between what we eat, what our mothers taught us, and what we believe about ourselves—from the pioneering body-image and compulsive-eating expert and bestselling author of Women, Food, and God

For nearly four decades, Geneen Roth has been a trusted and beloved voice, guiding women on how to give up dieting, end compulsive eating, and tune into their intuition. Her books have sold millions of copies and her workshops have months-long waiting lists. But only recently, after surviving a devastating breast cancer diagnosis and realizing that she or her mother might die before repairing the rift between them, Roth decided to face the reality that her relationship to her body and the food she eats are inextricably bound to her relationship with her mother. And, Roth discovered, this is true for almost every woman. For years, Roth has been telling women to listen to the intuitive voice inside themselves. But what if that voice is not theirs at all—what if it is the voice of their mothers? And what if, though it professes love, it’s actually harmful?

Determined to learn to distinguish between the intuition that is her own and the deeply-internalized prodding, often critical voice of her mother, Roth began working with a ninety year-old spiritual advisor named Coco. Blind, nearly deaf, and preternaturally empathetic, Coco helped Roth to untangle her sense of self from her mother’s judgement. For the first time, Roth was able to separate what her mother had led her to believe about herself from her truer inner-knowing. Now, living from that deeper place, the things that once kept her stuck, haunted, compulsive, or uncomfortable are set free. 

In Mothers, Daughters, and Food, Roth reveals how our mothers influence our beliefs about ourselves. She walks readers through a specific process to help them untangle those thoughts and she provides a roadmap to a healthier emotional and physical place. Written in her signature style—funny, self-aware, spiritually-wise—Mothers, Daughters, and Food is a must-read for anyone seeking to heal their relationships with food, their families, and themselves.