Introduction

Nothing gets Eleanor Samuels's heart racing like a double scoop of mocha fudge chunk. Sure, the magazine writer may have some issues aside from food, but she isn't quite ready to face them. Then her beloved Uncle Benny falls ill, and what at first seems scary and daunting becomes a blessing in disguise. Because while she cooks and cares for him-and enjoys a delicious flirtation with a new chef in town-Eleanor begins to uncover some long-buried secrets about her emotionally frayed family and may finally get the chance to become the woman she's always wanted to be.

Excerpt

Tonight Why not Eat Light?
7 Super-Easy suppers that won't weigh you down!

by Eleanor Samuels

You've picked up little Susie from soccer practice and Tommy's on his way home from the swim meet. Your husband dashes in clutching his briefcase and gym back after his post-work spin class. The last thing you want to do is load up your active family with unwanted fat and calories. How can you make a quick, easy dinner that's also healthy? ...view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

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Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

Discussion Questions from the Author:

1. The characters in this novel are struggling to learn how to properly care for one another on many different levels. In what ways do they succeed or fail to be nurturing?

2. How does Eleanor’s attitude toward food change throughout the book? What does her inability to vomit signify in her life? Her decrease in appetite?

3. The author does not reveal Eleanor’s actual size. Why do you think she made this decision, and how do you feel about it? What do you imagine Eleanor’s size to be, and how does it differ from or match your group members’ perceptions?

4. Food is described so intimately and beautifully in Eating Heaven, it is almost a character itself. How does the author use food to tell the story? Find passages where food reveals emotions, desires, connections, or conflicts.

5. What spurs Eleanor to see Suzanne Long, the food therapist? Why does she stop seeing her? What does Eleanor learn from Suzanne, and what does she learn on her own?

6. Why does Bebe refuse to see Benny, even when he is dying?

7. What is Bebe referring to when she tells Eleanor on page 199, ‘Benny isn’t quite the angel you think he is?’ How did your perceptions of Bebe and of her relationship with Benny change over the course of the story?

8. What would you do, if you found out that your family had a secret they had kept from you all your life?

9. Eleanor eats when she is stressed or upset. How do Anne and Christine cope with their life-changing problems?

10. What, for Benny, is the most difficult part of his illness?

11. Think about the men in Eleanor’s life—Benny, Stefan, Henry, and the memory of her father. How are these relationships similar? Different? What issues, if any, does she resolve with them by the end of the book, and how?

Book Club Recommendations

by cindyb (see profile) 06/26/09

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