Made to Crave
By Lysa TerKeurst
Zondervan, Paperback, 9780310293262, December 2010, 218pp.
The Short of It:
The concept of being “spiritually malnourished” is presented and it blew my mind.
The Rest of It:
One could say this book is geared towards people who are struggling with their weight and health issues as a whole. TerKeurst’s focus is food but really, what she talks about could apply to any vice, be it food, drugs, shopping, etc.
The writing is based on Biblical teachings so I want to share that up front. Each chapter includes a personal experience or challenge that TerKeurst faced, Scripture to support her findings and then a summary of what was covered. The big take away is that a person can be “spiritually malnourished” when food takes a front and center place in your life.
In my late teens, I battled eating disorders of every kind. If you didn’t have an eating disorder, then you surely knew someone who did. It was the thing back then. Obsessions with food, not eating, getting rid of what we ate, etc. After some heart issues, I just stopped. I stopped cold turkey and went on to live a happy life.
Well, a happy life of gaining and losing over and over again. A life where I get excited about tacos. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? I can never keep it off though so I reached for this book just to have a different take on the situation and I’m so glad I did.
Food is a big deal to me and this book made me realize how obsessed I’ve been with it. Are events that you attend successful because of what’s served on the menu? If you have carrot sticks in front of you, are you still dreaming about the last chicken nugget on your kid’s plate? This is what she writes about, this obsession that some of us have over food.
After finishing this book, I came away with a new understanding of how I think and where my focus lies. It’s good to do a little internal tweaking now and then. I’m not a fan of self-help books but Made to Crave did not feel like one at all. In fact, I need to buy myself a print copy just to keep it on hand.
Source: Borrowed
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Book Chatter 
Glad this worked for you but probably not a book I’d enjoy. Food has always been my drug of choice and I know it’s all in the head and my mood determines when I’m good and when I overdo it.
I think a lot of people use food for comfort but it’s not a problem for everyone. If you do it and find balance in it, then to me you have it all figured out. I thought I had it all figured out but I see now that I am still working on stuff. It does focus on food but it would be good for any vice.
I have this in my library tbr list.
TerKeurst is pretty popular right now with her new book that’s out, Uninvited. I couldn’t get that one originally but then stumbled across this one and thought I’ve give it a try. I really liked it but the reviews on Goodreads are not good at all. I think they missed the point because it’s not a diet book and people looking for a food plan will not find one here.
I would love to read something like this, but faith-based journeys are just not my thing. I’m glad you were able to find it useful though and hope it helps you.
This sounds like a book that really spoke to you. I like food, but I think I only have an obsession with chocolate and cheese.
I have no cravings for chocolate or cheese. I actually crave good stuff like veggies but the combination of what I eat doesn’t seem to be working for me and I continually deal with cross contamination issues. I am so sensitive to gluten now and a host of other foods that if they even touch my fork or another food item just briefly, I can’t breathe. So, I have to strip all my food down to the basics.