REVIEW for Speed Shrinking

Thank you so much to the wonderful author Susan Shapiro and her publicist Katy for sending me this great book!

TITLE: Speed Shrinking

AUTHOR: Susan Shapiro

GENRE: Novel

RATING: 4 Stars

This is an ideal combination for me. Susan Shapiro writing about one of the subjects that is closest to my heart - weight and addiction. I fell in love with Shapiro when she wrote her "memoir" about trying to stop her various addictions and although this book is a novel, she picks up along of the main themes that she has used in her non fiction book.

In this one, our main character is now a "guru". She has managed to lose all her weight and is now the person who helps other people out there. She has surrounded herself by a huge support system (which is a great idea when you are battling addictions) but, as luck and the universe would have it, these people are all leaving her, in various degrees - which means she needs to find herself, among other things a new shrink - before her nightly binges threaten to envelop her and prevent her from making her appearance on TV.

This book is at times hilarious, poignant and always rings true, true, true! When the author describes the battles against binge eating and how this is just but a symptom of a bigger problem, I wanted to cry. I loved that Shapiro chose to make her main character strong (and weak) and willing, willing to do what she needed to do to stay in recovery.

This book is for everyone who has an addiction (or if you know someone who does) who wants to take a funny and poignant look at the situtation. No victims need apply.