Change Your Body, Change The World
ISBN/DOI: 0-9723358-5-4
Description: paperback, 235 pages
Publishing Company: Exuberant Animal (2010)
Author: Frank Forencich

Reviewer: Steve Jefferies

Target Audience/Purpose:
PE, health, exercise, dance, sport and movement professionals and activists; parents. It would also be an excellent text for upper undergraduate or graduate student discussion seminars.

Content:
According to author, Frank Forencich, this book is a collection of "reflections on health and the human predicament." Forencich, the creator of Exuberant Animal training (http://www.exuberantanimal.com/), writes passionately about the way in which today's lifestyles and living environment are negatively impacting our health. The book is organized in a series of relatively short essays. Each essay begins with quotes. Frank then identifies a problem that he believes has negative consequences for our health. The essay concludes with suggestions for ways to counter these negative influences.

Strengths/ Limitations:
Frank Forencich thinks differently from most PE and health professionals you are likely to meet in our field. His books are similarly unlike any others you are likely to read. His writing reflects his personal commitment to living healthy, and a rare talent for seeing connections that most of us either miss or choose to ignore. Frank draws support for his ideas from a diverse array of biological and philosophical sources. I have no idea if the scientific evidence he quotes is widely accepted, but his essays are both provocative and entertaining. They inspire readers to reflect not only on professional practice, but likely also on the path their personal lives are moving. Frank's solution to the many health threats he identifies is relatively simple: We need to connect better with our bodies and with the world around us.

Summary:
Be warned that this book is not always easy to read. Frank is a skilled writer but weaves his words with a complexity that sometimes demands a willingness to pause and think. It is a book to stimulate discussion and reflection. As such it is probably best read in small doses allowing time for thoughts to percolate. But like his other books, Change Your Body, Change The World offers a perspective you are unlikely to find elsewhere. Try it. Whether or not you like it probably reveals more about you than the book!

Recommendation:
This is a good read. I believe it is healthy for those of us in the movement and health professions to intentionally seek out alternative viewpoints. And Frank Forencich's books, even if they don't convert you, are guaranteed to get you thinking.

Reviewer: Steve Jefferies, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA