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Description
With humor and compassion, You’d Be So Pretty If… offers parents fresh and useful strategies for conveying that success isn’t negated by carrying extra pounds—or guaranteed by keeping them off. Dara Chadwick reveals important insight about what girls learn when they watch their mothers diet; how to teach girls healthy eating and exercise habits; the trigger words that set off a body image; and how to recognize a budding eating disorder.
About the Author
Dara Chadwick is a former magazine staff editor. She wrote the 2007 Weight Loss Diary column for Shape. Chadwick lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island, with her family.
IVillage’s NeverSayDiet.com, 1/22/09
“[Chadwick’s] insightful mother-daughter body image angle is fantastic and refreshing.”
Washington Post, 3/3/09
“So how do we break the cycle? Chadwick offers excellent suggestions.”
Seattle Eastside Parenting Examiner.com
“I feel like this is a must-read for all parents—not just moms, but dads as well.”
Publishers Weekly, 3/16/09
“This is a thoughtful guide for moms who are rightly concerned about the body image legacy they will inevitably pass on to their daughters.”
Book a Week with Jen blog, 4/22/09
“It's an important book for mothers and even fathers.”
Newsweek, 5/6/09
“Offer[s] reassuring and practical advice for raising confident daughters and overcoming negative messages you may have received from your own mother…[Chadwick’s] book is a sensible and compassionate guide to understanding the intricate relationship between mother and daughter and how seemingly innocuous remarks can have lifelong consequences…How can we fight back against the negative images? At the end of each chapter, Chadwick offers what she calls Body Image Builders, steps mothers can take to help their daughters. Some may seem obvious, but are nonetheless worth repeating.”
NeverSayDiet.com, 5/7/09
“Looking for guidance? I urge you to check out Dara Chadwick’s new book.”
Mid-Ohio Valley Parent, 5/4/09
“Looking for guidance? I urge you to check out Dara Chadwick’s new book.”
Suite101.com
“An interesting and engaging read…Mother's and daughters will benefit because Dara Chadwick found the courage to take a personal, emotional journey and share it with the world. Bravo.”
BellaSugar.com, 5/8/09
“its target audience is the mommy brigade, there's plenty in here if you're not a parent — or if, um, you have lingering issues with the way your parents approached your appearance… it's worth checking out if you're a mom, an aunt, a big sister, or just someone who wants to learn how to be a little kinder to herself.”
St. Petersburg Times, 5/9/09
“Worth the read? Yes, if you are interested specifically in the mother/daughter relationship as it relates to body image.”
WhatIWeighToday.com, 5/12/09
“Chadwick does an excellent job of hammer[ing] home the fact that just like so much of our other behavior (table manners, talking with out hands), we model our body image after our mothers…I recommend the book for anyone raising a girl. The issues are nothing less than urgent.”
MizFitOnline.com, 5/12/09
“[Dara is] courageous (in her honesty), real (in sharing how she doesn't always adore her body) & human (in her struggles with motherhood & simply trying to be the best role model she can)…Through sharing her story (and weaving other mom/daughter quotes & stories throughout) Dara helps the reader realize she can be a self-acceptance work in progress and still help her daughter(s) navigate the rocky path to body-love. I really liked this book.”
Diary of a Mother blog, 5/10/09
“What's the secret? We want Hollywood to be our measuring stick? Dara rightly says no way. The brilliance of her book lies in answering those burning questions in the reader's mind. She addresses the hypocrisy head on…The book's strongest takeaway is self-acceptance and the emphasis on health…[A] helpful tool to be sure we're headed on the right path.”
FitWoman.com, 5/19/09
“We were wowed. It’s a great read not only for moms, but for any woman who would benefit from talking to herself more positively about her body, her self.”
VivaLaFeminista.com, 5/20/09
“This was a painful book to read but I loved it…I can't say enough how I hope that every mom out there reads this book.”
MSN.com
“Read the new book, You'd Be So Pretty If… Its practical advice helps cut through our ‘culture of criticism’—whether it's of your own thighs, or those of a famous young singer.”
Jamestown Press, 6/4/09
“A must-read book for all mothers and daughters”
ProjectHappilyEverAfter.com
“Should be required reading for all parents who have daughters…is one of those books that we should all read over and over again as our daughters age. Maybe, if we all do just that, we’ll raise a generation of girls who are body confident.”
Sacramento Book Review, 7/16/09
“Dara Chadwick answers how to ‘teach our daughters to love their bodies-even when we don’t love our own.’ Interviews with many women and girls and her own daughter explain how to navigate in an often tricky world and learn that size doesn’t equal worth.”
Adolescence
“Offers parents fresh and useful strategies for conveying that success is not negated by carrying extra pounds—or guaranteed by keeping them off.”
March 2010 A 2010 American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book.
“This is a book that should be read to raise awareness among mothers to what they impart to their daughters, in words and deeds.”
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