Are you one of the many who's terrified of having surgery?
Hundreds are just too scared yet hate being fat... what scares you? And how do you feel about diets - can they ever be as effective and long-lasting? ...
My mantra for years has been "Im just too busy to pick up a book for enjoyment - but I can now proudly announce that I've rediscovered books during 2009! The reason? I've been doing a mid-morning show on BBC Radio Berkshire (you can listen live online too - on BBC.co.uk/berkshire) which means I have a fifty mile round trip in my car every day. So I thought I'd turn the journey to good use by listening to audiobooks on my IPhone. The miles have eaten up Jane Austen, all the Brontes, Bill Clinton's My Life and even Churchill's Second World War memoirs - unabridged! I particularly loved Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father, the story of his childhood, his discovery of his dad's Kenyan family and his first steps into the world of politics. And, of course, all read aloud to me by the man himself! I'll never forget his account of the moment he first realised that skin colour was a huge issue. He'd been raised by an enlightened white family and as a little boy, it had never occurred to him that the larger world might even hate him for his dark, African skin. He was leafing through a magazine in his mother's office -and he was intrigued by a photo of an old, black man who had scarred and disfigured his face and body by skin bleaching. Another wonderful moment - when he met his father for the first time, and discovered he loved him, warts and all. And at the end, after his father's death when he sat on a Kenyan hilltop beside his father and grandfather's graves and ultimately found peace after a youth spent wondering where he came from, his paternal legacy, and his own progeny and destiny. I found I was driving through the villages of Berkshire with tears welling up in my eyes and had to pull over to recover! Audiobooks have saved my commuting sanity this year, and enriched my life. If you spend too much time in traffic jams or on motorways - I couldn't recommend audiobooks more.
