My original Food Junkies audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Food addiction creates a situation where many who suffer, find themselves alone and without good advice. In Food Junkies: The Truth About Food Addiction by Vera Tarman and Philip Werdell, they provide not only practical advice, but a host of narratives where those that suffer from food addiction can gain the confidence to break the cycle of addiction. The central tenet of the book is that to combat overeating, one must treat overeating as an addiction and the book works to validate that, often opposed, contention. While addictions in alcohol, drugs, and other substances sometimes remain often as problems others have, all of us eat food. This book provides solace and a talking center for what seems an obvious issue, but is not talked about much. If overeating is a genetic disorder, then there would be great value in parent talking to child and child talking to parent in a way that’s meaningful.

Those who are food addicts, or at least overeat, will recognize many parts of the book will resonate with them from digging food out of the trash after throwing it away to the denial that comes with the disorder. The narratives clear, telling a story, making an important point, but some go beyond what one might initially expect is a book of clinical explication. From the introduction, the authors make clear there are three audiences: the clinician, the patient, and the layperson interested in the subject and speaks clearly to all of them. The parallels are strong between food and alcohol addiction and the analogies and metaphors vivid. The only small idiosyncrasies about the book came from the editing, from time to time a veteran clinician will recognize some points that aren’t quite right such as hearing “pharmakinetics” instead of “pharmacokinetics.”

While it may seem an odd companion, The Bitter Taste of Dying: A Memoir by Jason Smith, narrated by Paul Costanzo, provides a strong narrative “next read,” I feel to this book about overeating and addiction. While The Truth About Food Addiction goes over the stages of early, middle, late, and final in the food addiction circuit, as one would expect of a clinical narrative, the book also goes very dark, it goes to the places the textbooks won’t – to stories of failure, rape, hopelessness, and death. These are more than stories of success and failure, these narratives are the real sadness many would be uncomfortable sharing, but the important real solutions that come from this candid and important discussion.

About the narrator
Lisa Bunting is a veteran narrator providing both the gravitas and clarity that the book needs. She is an easy listen and provides the narrative strength to capture both the emotion and teaching that come from this book. It seems a very good match between content and speaker. Her voice is assuring, while not being pushy, as many readers are looking for encouragement, but a firm hand to help guide them. Her voice lends that hand.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher. ( )

This was such an interesting book. I have always enjoyed getting to know the science behind our body and the way we work, especially psychologically. This book takes an in depth look at the science and current study in the addictions related to food and eating. It is so much more than just what and when you eat, and the author, who practices medicine in this particular field, uses the book to show us the full detail behind these addictions.

It is easy to read,but doesn't make itself so by cutting any pertinent or interesting facts. You do not need to be scientifically minded to understand and enjoy this book, but it will still be engaging and interesting for those who are and have more of a background in the subjects. It would also be a very interesting read for those who study nutrition and health/fitness.

I really enjoyed this book and feel that a lot people will find it both interesting and useful. It is one that can used as a tool to help those you know who may suffer from a food addiction, or yourself, and can easily be seen as an invaluable insight in to the way those with food addictions think, feel and act, with regards to food.

**I received this book for free and voluntarily provided my honest and unbiased review. ( )

Tarman argues well the case for considering certain types of chronic overeating as falling into the category of addiction, and discusses alternate approaches for treatment. Readable, instructive, useful. ( )

I was torn whether to classify this book as "science and medicine" or "cultural studies", but the anecdotal approach and frankly disappointingly superficial level of research pushed me in the "cultural studies" direction. Long story short, some people may have an addictive relationship to food - just as some have an addictive relationship to drugs or alcohol - that prevents them from enjoying a healthy balanced relationship with food. The authors seem to suggest that sugar is the trigger for many of these individuals, but the sample size on which the authors base their conclusions is suspiciously small. Further, studies on which they rely are not the most vigorous. I was hoping for more, but this book does not deliver. ( )