What's My Body Telling Me?: Your Body Isn't the Problem. It's the Solution. by Anthea Todd, 3 stars

[Jen]

The first half of this book was interesting but the second half sort of waffled on and kept repeating the same thing. One statement she made which really resonates with me is "There is a difference between not being dead and being alive." This is what I have been trying to point out to friends, family and doctors ever since my diagnosis. If the treatment makes you feel worse than the disease, why do it? I don't agree with all her beige flags as a science person, but I very much agree with the idea that we need to know and understand "how to recognise when things are going well, when things are getting a little rocky, and when your body is screaming at you to reach out for help."

I think the second quote is how I ended up with cancer. I had all the warnings from my body in hindsight, but I was struggling so much emotionally with the other things in my life that I had no room to notice them or change things. I was just surviving one day at a time. Once I got a job where I felt safe, and accepted the truth of my abusive relationship, then I saw the signs and insisted on the right medical tests. It could have been seen sooner if I had had the headspace to notice and deal with it, but at that time it was better it wasn't found because I was only just surviving anyway.

Probably should have read this while in the abusive relationship because my body was warning me that was unsafe right from the start too. I do think most women need to read the first half of this book, so they listen to their bodies better and don't have to learn the hard way like I did.

[Holly R W]

I agree that high anxiety and stress can cloud our ability to see clearly and notice important things going on. I've experienced this too.