Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Healthy Living from the Inside Out by Mariel Hemingway

Mariel Hemingway’s Healthy Living from the Inside Out is a pretty good self-help guide that’s out of the ordinary, interesting, refreshing and very informative. She goes beyond the food and exercise that most books of this kind focus on and includes “silence” (clearing the mind and taking time for quiet reflection) and “home” (clearing clutter and chaos in living spaces). It’s these two sections that make this book unique.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all program, either. It’s down-to-earth and very accessible for everyone. Rather than giving the reader a set of rigid steps to follow, she allows for plenty of latitude and provides lots of choices. While the 30-day program offered at the end does have steps to follow, it’s flexible and customizable. The advice is based on her personal experience; she leaves it up to the reader to picks the things that are right for her/him. She advises, “Follow your instinct” and “Do what’s right for you”. As far as I’m concerned, that’s really good advice.

The food section includes lots of yummy looking recipes I can’t wait to try. She uses a few ingredients that I’m unfamiliar with, though. I’ll have to investigate them further before I take the plunge and purchase them to make the recipes.

In the exercise section, she introduces “exercise with intent”. I found that section extremely fascinating. Usually, I zone out during my workouts on the treadmill. I thought that this was a good thing. However, after Hemingway’s explanation regarding this, I’m going to make a point of paying more attention.

In the silence and home sections, Hemingway presents some interesting and valid points. I think I’ll be paying the most attention to these areas [since I’ve already made changes in my food intake and exercise plan earlier this year].

I love the sections were she talks about her family, their vices and their legacy. I’m tempted to pick up her autobiography to read more about her and her famous family.

Overall, I’d recommend this book to those looking to make some simple changes in their lives to be happier and healthier.

[This ARC is a little hard to read and follow because the final formatting hasn’t been done. Also, it would also be nice if there were some photos of the yoga poses, however, I don’t know if they are planned for the final cut. ]

2 comments:

  1. Hi there, saw your comments on Harper Collins Facebook and made my way here, I'm a bookcrosser too...cestmoi.

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  2. Hi Vincenza/cestmoi,
    It's nice to meet you. Thanks for clicking over to my book blog. I'm really enjoying reading everyone comments on HC Facebook. It's a great group. Lately, I've been posting more there than on Bookcrossing. Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

    Marie/LazyDaisy

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Thanks so much for your comment. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I've been getting lots of spam comments, so I'm turning on word verification to help keep spammers away. I know it's a pain; I don't like it either. Hopefully, in time I'll be able to turn it off again. Thank you!