Synopses & Reviews
andlt;iandgt;andlt;bandgt;and#8220;Iand#8217;m a glutton in a greyhoundand#8217;s body, a walking contradiction, in the grip of the one thing I canand#8217;t haveand#8212;food.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;/bandgt;andlt;/iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Food is not just sustenance. It is memories, a lobster roll on the beach in Maine; heritage, hot pastrami club with a half-sour pickle; guilty pleasures, a chocolate rum-soaked Bundt cake; identity, vegetarian or carnivore. Food is the sensuality of a ripe strawberry or a pork chop sizzling on the grill. But what if the very thing that keeps you alive, that bonds us together and marks occasions in our lives, became a toxic substance, an inflammatory invader? In this beautifully written memoir, both gut-wrenching and inspiring, award-winning writer Jon Reiner explores our complex and often contradictory relationship with food as he tells the story of his agonizing battle with Crohnand#8217;s diseaseand#8212;and the extraordinary places his hunger and obsession with food took him. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;iandgt;The Man Who Couldnand#8217;t Eat andlt;/iandgt;is an unvarnished account of a marriage in crisis, children faced with grown-up fears, a man at a life-and-death crossroads sifting through his past and his present. And it shows us a tough, courageous climb out of despair and hopelessness. Aided by the loving kindness of family, friends, and strangers and by a new approach to food, Reiner began a process of healing in body and mind. Most of all, he chose lifeand#8212;and a renewed appetite, any way he could manage it, for the things that truly matter most.
Review
and#8220;In this engrossing and candid memoir, James Beard Awardand#8211;winning writer Reiner tells of his doctor's orders following a diagnosis of a torn intestine: eat nothing. Reiner, who at age 46 had a history of Crohn's disease, gets even more bad news when emergency surgery results in a severely infected abdomen, among other complications, that force him to get his nutrition intravenously. The bulk of the book is given over to the singular experience of not eating at all and the graphic details of his treatment, while chronicling its impact on the author, his wife, and his two young sons. He endures a feverish dream of food-related memories from his childhood in the Caribbean and his adulthood in New York. Questions of mortality and even suicide arise, and while the immediate ability to taste does not return, the narrator's capacity for eating solid food eventually does, though swinging at times between extremes of hunger and appetite. Reiner's use of detail amid the haze of sickness sometimes tests the suspension of disbelief, but as a piece of writing it's fearless and singular.and#8221; andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;Publishers Weeklyandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
"An engrossing and candid memoir. As a piece of writing, it's fearless and singular."
--Publishers Weekly
Review
“An inspiring, incredible tale.” —Starred Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Jon Reiner has thrown the door to the mysterious world of chronic illness wide open in andlt;iandgt;The Man Who Couldn't Eatandlt;/iandgt;, a memoir of an experience that is as illuminating to read about as it was horrifying to live. This wholly enthralling book will make you appreciate every breath you takeand#8212;and every bite you eat." andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Terry Teachout, drama critic for andlt;iandgt;The Wall Street Journal andlt;/iandgt;and author of andlt;iandgt;Pops: A Life of Louis Armstorngandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;Bandgt; andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
"Reiner has the moxie and the courage not only to tell the harrowingly real story of his fight to stay alive, but to do so with detachment and a crazy sense of irony. His memoir about food, hunger, and a near-death experience is a food loverand#8217;s nightmare andand#8212;with his food memories as the focal pointand#8212;a necessary read." andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Jonathan Waxman, author of andlt;iandgt;Italian, My Wayandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;iandgt;andlt;Bandgt; andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"I will never take eating for granted again. Wow! What a roller coaster. All I kept thinking was, andlt;iandgt;You cannot be serious! andlt;/iandgt;But he was." andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;John McEnroe, author of andlt;iandgt;You Cannot Be Seriousandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
and#8220;I have spent years of my life obsessing about my weight, feeling guilt over every mouthful. Jon Reiner's magnificent and devastating memoir, andlt;iandgt;The Man Who Couldn't Eatandlt;/iandgt;, accomplished the impossible. It made me shut up and enjoy my food.and#8221; andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Ayelet Waldman, author of andlt;iandgt;Red Hook Roadandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
and#8220;Reiner is such a vivid writer that this first-person account of a food loverand#8217;s descent into hell is, at turns, gripping, horrifying, excruciating and, ultimately, redeeming.and#8221; andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, James Beard Award-winning authors of andlt;iandgt;The Flavor Bibleandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;The Food Lover's Guide to Wineandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
and#8220;Reiner writes a horrendously funny account of his condition in which food is his mortal enemy. He is the Olympian of a modern truthand#8212;our daily bread has it in for usand#8212;and his book hits the mark.and#8221; andlt;bandgt;and#8212;Lore Segal, author of andlt;iandgt;Her First American andlt;/iandgt;and andlt;iandgt;Shakespeare's Kitchenandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
Review
and#8220;An inspiring, incredible tale.and#8221; andlt;bandgt;and#8212;andlt;/bandgt;andlt;bandgt;Starred andlt;iandgt;Kirkus Reviewsandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;andlt;iandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
Based on his Esquire magazine article, THE MAN WHO COULDN'T EAT is the very personal journey of Jon Reiner's struggle with chronic illness.
Synopsis
"I'm a glutton in a greyhound's body, a walking contradiction, in the grip of the one thing I can't have--food."
Food is not just sustenance. It is memories, a lobster roll on the beach in Maine; heritage, hot pastrami club with a half-sour pickle; guilty pleasures, a chocolate rum-soaked Bundt cake; identity, vegetarian or carnivore. Food is the sensuality of a ripe strawberry or a pork chop sizzling on the grill. But what if the very thing that keeps you alive, that bonds us together and marks occasions in our lives, became a toxic substance, an inflammatory invader? In this beautifully written memoir, both gut-wrenching and inspiring, award-winning writer Jon Reiner explores our complex and often contradictory relationship with food as he tells the story of his agonizing battle with Crohn's disease--and the extraordinary places his hunger and obsession with food took him.
The Man Who Couldn't Eat is an unvarnished account of a marriage in crisis, children faced with grown-up fears, a man at a life-and-death crossroads sifting through his past and his present. And it shows us a tough, courageous climb out of despair and hopelessness. Aided by the loving kindness of family, friends, and strangers and by a new approach to food, Reiner began a process of healing in body and mind. Most of all, he chose life--and a renewed appetite, any way he could manage it, for the things that truly matter most.
Synopsis
Based on his Esquire magazine article, THE MAN WHO COULDN'T EAT is the very personal journey of Jon Reiner's struggle with chronic illness.
Synopsis
In the tradition of The Last Lecture and Three Cups of Tea, and inspired by his much-praised 2009 Esquire article, “The Man Who Couldn’t Eat,” a famed food writer chronicles his battle with Crohn’s disease.
Jon Reiner was middle-aged, happily married with two children, living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and acclimating to his role as primary parent-caregiver when he suffered a near-fatal collapse due to complications from his chronic battle with Crohn’s disease. From that point, he was forbidden from eating food, fed intravenously, and denied the pleasures of taste, which, as an award-winning food writer, had been a central part of his life. In Curb Your Appetite, Reiner reinvents the foodoir, recounting what happens when a man obsessed with food cannot eat, and what happened to his family as a result. Coping with illness, unemployment, and financial ruin spun him into a deep depression, straining his relationship with his wife and children. It was this deprivation, ironically, that forced Jon to recognize what he’d been taking for granted.
Eloquent and powerful, this is one man’s journey from deprivation and despair to ultimately acceptance and appreciation of what is truly important.
About the Author
JON REINER won the 2010 James Beard Foundation Award for Magazine Feature Writing with Recipes for the collaborative andlt;iandgt;Esquireandlt;/iandgt; article and#8220;How Men Eat.and#8221; His memoir, andlt;iandgt;The Man Who Couldnand#8217;t Eatandlt;/iandgt;, is based on an acclaimed article of the same name that he wrote for andlt;iandgt;Esquireandlt;/iandgt; in 2009. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.