I don’t think I realized how much emotional stuff came up
for me while I was reading Lost and Found by Geneen Roth. I wasn’t aware that
she had also written Women Food and God – a book that my boss was reading and
that I recommended to my mother. All three of us had battled the bulge over our
lifetimes. I knew that I had an emotional connection to food – and I’ve been
working hard to conquer it. It wasn’t until after I read Lost and Found that I
realized that I was going to have to battle my problems with money in the same
way. And that my problems with money were very similar to my problems with
food. I use food to comfort myself and punish myself. I do the same thing with
money.
Lost and Found is about the author’s spiritual journey after
she discovers that all of the hard earned savings that she and her husband had
earned and set aside for retirement had been lost when Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi
scheme was exposed. Can you imagine
that? Broke and struggling to figure out what to do next, the author goes
shopping for glasses – even though she doesn’t need a new pair and has other
pairs at home. She needs to spend only because she can’t spend. She’s
restricted by her budget.
While Roth was writing this book, her first book, Women Food
and God was becoming a New York Times best-seller. In the epilogue of the book,
she says that she has made back all of the money she lost with Madoff and then
some. (We should all be so lucky!) It is through the celebrity of Women Food
and God, that she begins doing retreats and book readings that put her in touch
with other women that are struggling with food and money. She shares all of her
insights in this book.
I found this book to be one that I couldn’t put down. It
helped me understand why I start to have a panic attack every time that I check
my bank accounts online. Why I make so many spelling errors when I write
checks. Why I’m willing to buy a shirt I don’t like that’s on sale, but not a
shirt that I really like that isn’t. I’m acting out my emotional relationship
with money. I recommend this book to all
women who use money. If you’ve ever held a quarter in your hand and wondered
whether to buy a gumball, some bread crumbs to feed the ducks or put it in your
piggy bank…this book is for you. It will make you look inward, and you might
not be happy with everything you see.
You'll find more interesting discussion on this topic on the BlogHer website.
You'll find more interesting discussion on this topic on the BlogHer website.
This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.
