Obsessed

Broadcast journalist Mika Brzezinski narrates her book, which highlights America's food issues. Brzezinski begins with an almost contentious narration that reveals her own obsessions with food. At the outset, she says, her struggles and her outspokenness about unhealthy American food practices were not taken seriously because she has never been overweight. Though her message is pertinent, Brzezinski's forceful delivery is rushed at times, making for a taut listening experience and some unclear transitions between the narrative and quotations. Brzezinski's message becomes somewhat easier to hear as her narration moves toward a calmer journalistic style that addresses numerous factors contributing to obesity while emphasizing the increased pressure on celebrities to be physically attractive. M.F. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine