"It Was Me All Along" Book Review

If you guys are not familiar with this book or this author (Andie Mitchell), you seriously need to be!!

I fell in love with this book a thousand times over while reading it. I came across it on my kindle, as a recommendation, and I almost didn't read it, but the cover, a picture of Andie as a chubby little kid at the beach reminded me so very much of myself (I'm pretty sure I have an almost identical picture), I had to take a minute to dig in and see what she had to say. And I am so glad I did. 

(buy it on amazon! right now!)

Her story is similar to mine in that we both grew up using food to comfort every feeling we didn't know how to deal with. We had a mutual best friend in food. A mutual comforter in Dunkin Donuts. We both dealt with teasing, humiliation, bullying because of our weight. Shopped at the same stores for the same sizes as our weights went up and up. She and I grew up not far from each other in Massachusetts, and I am pretty sure our paths had crossed at some point in our lives. We have been to the same beaches as kids, and she even worked on a film that started filming in her town and then made it's way to mine where it wrapped up filming just minutes from where I was working at the time. She and my best friend went to the same university at the same time. 

Her style of writing is so honest and so open you can't help but love her for it. You can taste the foods she describes as she describes them. You can feel her pain as she tells you how she feels as she finds out her father has died. And her growing pains in losing weight and being thin for the first time in her life. I haven't read anything I loved so much in such a long time. 

I was browsing Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth (which you should also check out if you aren't familiar) last week and randomly found out that Andie had done a Ted talk! And I love love love a good Ted talk! It was just amazing. And inspiring. And then finally I visited her food blog! Also amazing. 

(check out her blog!)

I know I don't know her personally, but I feel as if I do and I am so proud of all she has accomplished. It is truly inspiring and a true and honest look at how losing weight doesn't change who you are or fix all your problems, but what it can do and what it did for her.

Andie, if you happen to stumble upon this, I think I love you as much as you love Oprah.

-G