This was a really informative and super insightful read. I loved that the author was able to provide culturally relevant explanations for so many patterns related to disordered eating.

“Reclaiming the Black Body” is very informative and thought-provoking. I’m one of the many who’ve never considered the different types of eating disorders nor their causes and effects, especially on Black women.

The author does so much with this book. It’s almost as if you’re having a personal therapy session with her. It’s easy to read, digest, and restorative to your mental well-being.

I was sent a copy of this book and started reading without any real idea of what it was about, but I’m so glad I did.

Thank you, Alishia, for taking the time to pen this book. We, as a community, definitely need it.

Reclaiming the Black Body is an important and insightful read about disordered eating amongst black women. The author shares her story and provides us with a road map on how to heal our mind and body while finding peace within ourselves. This was a very healing read, one that changed my life and that I'm very grateful to have read.

In "Reclaiming the Black Body: Nourishing the Home Within," Alishia McCullough, LCMHC, presents an essential exploration of the often overlooked impact of disordered eating among Black women. Drawing from her experience as a licensed mental health therapist, somatic healer, and eating disorder specialist, McCullough explores how racial trauma disrupts Black women's relationship with our bodies and food. This groundbreaking work asks readers to acknowledge and address the disproportionate effects of disordered eating within BIPOC communities. McCullough's approach integrates historical context, client stories, guided practices that encourage somatic embodiment and healing. She shares her own experiences as a Black woman from the South (who is also the eldest daughter in a sibling group of three and a first generation college student), providing a comprehensive and empathetic road map to healing the mind, body, spirit connection.

As a bibliotherapist, I find "Reclaiming the Black Body" to be a significant addition to the literature on eating disorders and racial trauma. McCullough honors the contributions of Black feminist thinkers and emphasizes that eating disorders are biopsychosocial-spiritual conditions impacting diverse individuals. She roots disordered eating behaviors in the history of slavery and generational trauma, highlighting the need for culturally informed care. By rejecting patriarchal and white supremacist frameworks, McCullough offers a decolonized perspective that is both validating and ground breaking. This book is invaluable for anyone seeking to heal their relationship with food and their body, particularly within the context of systemic oppression and cultural trauma. One quote that resonates deeply is: "Healing can be a lonely journey; it requires faith and surrender to the process of becoming undone and unraveled so that you can be fully transformed."

McCullough offers Black women and femmes a pathway to restoration and reconnection within our bodies that honors our ancestral inheritances. She does not moralize health. Instead, she teaches us to honor the ways we have been impacted by culture and systemic issues so that the true self can reemerge and move beyond the trauma rooted in survival. Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!

McCullough’s groundbreaking work radically validates the lived experiences and generational traumas of BIPOC communities. We need more book about this to really addressing the need of black society life.