Well, I wrote week 3’s post waaaay ahead of time and promptly forgot to post it. So, double post today!
THE PROMPT
One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is the way it can open your eyes to the world around you—no plane ticket required. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Is there a book that, if everyone read it, you think the world would be a better place? Hosted by Rebekah from She Seeks Nonfiction
MY 2024 MIND OPENERS
Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food….and Why Can’t We Stop? by Chris van Tulleken is a delightfully accessible and non-judgmental look at ultra processed food, its presence in our lives, and how consuming them impacts us. Perhaps because the author is British or because he writes frankly about eating, and feeding ultra processed foods to his own child, but this book was just the science of why we have processed foods and why we love the ultra-processed versions. It freed me to see the food I was consuming and look for value in it. It also encouraged me to be non judgmental and neutral when talking about food.
Just a few months later I read Eat and Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being by Mary Beth Albright and I took my information about ultra-processed foods and leveled up. This book doesn’t promise that eating a certain way will change your mental health, but it points to the science and studies behind how certain foods can support your emotional well-being. The thing I cling to is trying to get a wide variety of fruits, vegetable and grains in my body each week. I know that this may sound silly, but I am one of those people with a sensitive stomach and not a big appetite (unless it is for sour candy). I tend to eat the same things over and over again. When I stray outside of my “safe foods” my body is unhappy. Slowly introducing a wide variety has been easy and, like having a diverse friend group, having diverse nutrient sources has improved my life exponentially.
Nothing in White Tears / Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color was new to me but the depth and the breath of how white women betray women of color was so shocking and systematic. I was especially struck with the different ways that systems challenge white women to choose to align with white men or their fellow women.
Like White Tears / Brown Scars, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men wasn’t a revolutionary idea for me, that the world wasn’t built for women. But it showed me that my feeling, that I wasn’t a full and equal consideration in the way the world works, was actually grounded in reality. My seatbelt doesn’t fit because it wasn’t built for me. The medical tests are not tested for men (unless it is wrinkle cream!).
Tell me, please! What books have opened your mind this year?
Silver Button Books 
Very intriguing books! Invisible Women—I always wonder who the products I buy were tested on…and now I see why things don’t really fit well for me!
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Agree! I was shocked that even seatbelts weren’t tested for women. Meanwhile, the only thing we got tested on was youthful skin cream. Massive eye roll!
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Invisible Women is amazing, isn’t it. I’ve got White Tears / Brown Scars on my Kindle – need to progress to actually reading it, though I have read a few books on that kind area at least.
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I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!
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All of these sound interesting. Someone else recommended “Formerly Known as Food” to me a while back, which seems like it would fit with the first 2. The problem for me would be I already worry too much about processed food and I think these books may make me even more anxious if I take them very seriously. (I did have a lot of pizza for dinner today, though, so I don’t think I’m too obsessive yet!)
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I am adding these as well! You are so full of great recommendations, thank you!
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