IT WAS FOOD VS. ME... AND I WON: How I Learned to Face My Feelings, Feed My Cravings, Make New Choices and Live a Life Beyond Food

Goodman suffered with a binge-eating disorder for more than 15 years, sometimes consuming 8,000 calories in a day and spending the next few days burning them off (for reference, a McDonald's Big Mac and Super Size French Fries add up to 1,210 calories). Now that Goodman has overcome her disorder, she's penned this candid autobiographical account of her food obsession, demonstrating that there is an escape route from binge-diet cycles. Based on the idea that "it isn't so much about what you're eating but how you are eating it," Goodman's method is to structure eating habits by keeping two journals. One diary monitors how, when and where food is consumed; the other documents the "dialogues inside your head." For Goodman, food is not the real problem; since "what sits behind food is a feeling." She describes in detail how therapy helped her find those feelings and work through them. In later chapters, Goodman discusses her strategies for food management, and uses personal anecdotes to illustrate such issues as eating only when you're hungry, eating in restaurants, eating junk food in moderation, and preparing for and accepting binges. Fellow sufferers will find Goodman's experience familiar, but her recommended recovery program is somewhat over-simplified. And her conversational, occasionally humorous style eventually becomes repetitive, although some valuable nuggets are buried between descriptions of dinner parties and therapy sessions. (On sale Apr. 26)

Forecast: A five-city author tour and national TV satellite tour might draw women in. Goodman's story was featured on Caroline Myss's Web site and received an overwhelming response; readers of that piece may want to buy this book.