Book Review: MADE TO CRAVE by Lysa TerKeurst

Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 218 pages, US$14.99, reviewed by Alexis A. Goring). 

Diets don’t work. But the concepts in Made to Crave will help you achieve the picture of health you desire. According to www.madetocrave.org, “Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen.” Written by Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave is a book written to help us recognize our deep cravings for food as what they really are—our hearts’ yearning for God.

             Made to Crave contains 19 chapters of biblically sound advice. While the target audience appears to be women, men would also benefit from the material contained in this book. After reading Made to Crave, I felt empowered to make a lifestyle change—one founded on my ultimate craving, which is not for food but for God.

           Within the first chapter of the book, TerKeurst makes a heart connection with dieters everywhere when she says: “Not once in my life have I ever craved a carrot stick” (p. 12). TerKeurst goes on to say why Made to Crave is useful, describing it as “the missing companion you’ve needed with every healthy eating plan you tried and cried over” (p. 14). Given her own personal struggle with weight and food, TerKeurst can testify to others. She writes: “With Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up. If we want to be filled, we must deny ourselves. . . . If we want to conquer our cravings, we’ll have to redirect them to God” (p. 16).

          According to TerKeurst: “Getting healthy isn’t just about losing weight. It’s not limited to adjusting our diet and hoping for good physical results. It’s about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change—spiritually, physically, and mentally” (p. 16).

          Made to Crave achieves its goal of showing readers how to win the battle of the bulge. TerKeurst combines her skill as a noted writer and experience as a woman striving to achieve a picture of health to write a book that speaks to the hearts of women worldwide and provides the tools they need to break free from bondage to their appetites and unhealthy food choices.

          After reading Made to Crave, you’ll find it hard not to be convinced that with God, all things are possible.

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This article was published May 26, 2011.

Accessed online (http://www.adventistreview.org/issue.php?issue=2011-1515&page=30)