If you're not already offically subscribed, click here: https://subscribepage.io/6xcvD4)
Hey Book Club!
I can’t believe it. We made it to the end of the book! It feels bittersweet but also exciting as this was our first experiment with a book club. Yay us!
During the past few weeks, we loved highlighting some of the many gems in this book & we deeply hope you've been able to take some time to journal and/or discuss this book with others.
Marilee here: Reading actual pages proved challenging with a toddler but having Chrissy read to me was awesome. I personally am going to miss listening to Chrissy’s voice on my morning drives and having her amp me up to be the main character in my life.
Fun recap: Our book club started with 2 and has grown to 17people! I think that’s pretty cool considering we are a small potatoes online presence. I would love to see more people reading books like Kings.
Now let’s talk body liberation!
THE BODY LIBERATION PROJECT: CHAPTERS 9, 10 & CONCLUSION
Fave quotes from Chapter 9,10 & Conclusion:
"The thing about fatphobia is that it's so similar to white supremacy that unlearning it is a lifelong journey" (p228)
"Our preferences for thinness, which are ingrained in white supremacy and racism, come through as compliments for the achievement of a thinner body" (p229
"We should never-and I mean never-make unsolicited comments about someone else's body. EVER." (p229)
"We have all been indoctrinated to believe that being smaller is indicative of our worthiness" (p2523)
"We are inherently worthy because we exist" (p260)
"Developing the ability to radically accept our bodies and recognize our value regardless of what we look like is paramount if we ever want to feel at home and at peace with ourselves" (p260)
"Our bodies are not a measure of our worth" (p260)
"Other peoples anti-fat bias is a reflection of them, not me. I'm not the problem. Their internalized fatphobia is the problem" (p261)
"Your greatest gift to the world is being your true self unapologetically" (p277)
Oooof! These are powerful. Did we miss any? Send them our way.
Discussion Questions:
Chapter9
1. King suggests some practical ways to set boundaries when breaking up with diet culture, including: establish boundaries with social media, establish boundaries with friends, family and lovers, establish boundaries with your doctor. (p234-243).
How are you doing with setting boundaries in this area when it comes to diet culture? What gets in the way?
From Principal to Practice (pg248): we encourage you to dig into these reflection questions as once again a way to translate this information into actionable steps to ditch diet culture (and by extension, move away from racist, fatphobic values diet culture upholds).
Chapter 10
1. "There were always 5 more pounds to lose. I would lose those 5 pounds and then it would be 5 more pounds... the reality is that you can't diet your way out of hating yourself into loving yourself" (p253)
Most clients have expressed having had this experience, of knowing this is inherently true and also, there are often blocks in letting go of chasing a lower number on the scale. What are your biggest blocks/challenges with letting go of the pursuit of a lower and lower number on the scale?
2. "I mostly want all the feelings to go away. I want to skip the part where you sit with them and process them" (p255)
Such a relatable statement for most of us! Let that be true and, keep going with the hard work of feeling them. We believe in you. Keep reminding yourself that "trying to control our bodies is not the answer to emotional pain" even if it often feels very convincing that it could be.
3. "There was a point in time when I truly believed that I could love myself and my life more if I was in a smaller body" (p257)
How much or little do you believe this statement? What do you need to hear to help let this idea go?
Monica here, I adore this quote as it’s a fantastic affirmation to keep reminding yourself when that inner critic is LOUD AF: "Guilt and shame haven't worked, so why not give love a try?"
Conclusion
1. "I could spend the rest of my life worried about not wanting to ruffle feathers or I could be a change maker, but I couldn't be both" (p274)
When you think about your values, how much do you suppress your values in order to not "ruffle feathers" - be that internally or externally? In what ways do living by your values ruffle feathers AND allow you to live aligned with the personal and societal changes you believe in?
2. "I do most of the things I do afraid. I am not immune to imposter syndrome. I wake up some days and wonder if I am making enough of an impact. I have moments when I question who I am to dare to desire to change the landscape of the wellness industry" (p275)
Monica here, wow is this ever relatable. I also think about how this applies to healing - healing from trauma, grief, depression, anxiety, eating disorders. So much of it is showing up afraid and figuring out what we need in terms of support to do the hard things, while afraid anyways. Day after day, to varying degrees, as best we can.
Here's the reality: "We can spend our energy focusing on shrinking and obsessing about our bodies, or we can use our energy on creating magic and change in the world... its really hard to do both. I would argue its impossible" (p277) - What thoughts come up for you as you read this sentence? How does it make you feel?
Books Referenced in these Chapters:
Sonya Renee Taylor: The Body Is Not an Apology**highly recommend
Kate Johnson: Radical Friendship *we haven't read this, no comment but looks great, let us know if you've read this!
And with that, we have officially wrapped up our journey together through this book!
Friendly Reminders
This book club offering has been a pilot and needs feedback! We would love to hear from you so please hit reply or post anonymously in the feedback link.
WE ARE DYING TO KNOW, what is missing from book club? What do you like? What could we improve?
FEEDBACK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIPQe7IZ7p8rjodgoGeTOYuqU-Rqra9pwImOmJcI9_qlP7QQ/viewform
FUTURE BOOKS
Add your suggestions: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgzNXuF423bvJfXXfOCQ1LM5Y9TEiarTANOKK0sDh0qsBDwA/viewform
You can see other titles suggested once you submit your ideas which helps us to determine interest for future offerings.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
Add your thoughts to the forum on some of these discussion points https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cNn1rkVhA0xHszp4Vcwmlw--RaChM2m6aXHn7KD1ZHQ/edit
INVITE OTHERS
Share the link to subscribe and access some of these resources at this link: https://subscribepage.io/6xcvD4)
If you’re interested in us continuing please tell us! Also if you are super passionate about this work and have extra time to commit, we may need to recruit a volunteer to assist with future offerings. This book club is a labour of love but also challenging to manage on the side of busy lives but it’s SO important.
Final Remarks
"The revolution needs you. You are magic. You are meant to do more with this life than to shrink yourself" (p285) --- YES, YES and more YES to this (Monica & Marilee)
We cannot thank you enough for subscribing and joining us on this email discussion through this phenomenal book!
Much love and appreciation,
Marilee & Monica