Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being

Black Enterprise, July, 1995 by Tania Padgett

For many black women, good health translates into aerobic classes, weight training and eight glasses of water a day. But true health is more than a good body; it's having a good soul. Nobody explains this better than Essence magazine's executive editor, Linda Villarosa, in her new book entitled Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being. The book is a balanced and authoritative work that advises black women on numerous health concerns. Along with focusing on such common disorders as diabetes and fibroids, Villarosa discusses more controversial issues, including the female condom, lesbianism, sex after 50, domestic violence, sexual abuse, incest and AIDS.

The book is divided into six sections that look at women's health from the outside in, both physically and emotionally. Each topic is followed by a substantial resource list, and every chapter boasts inspirational personal accounts, along with photographs and illustrations depicting familiar people and themes. But it is the easy, laidback and conversational tone of the writing that makes this book seem less like an encyclopedia of ailments and cures, and more of a kitchen table discussion between sisters.

There is very little that Body & Soul doesn't cover, thus making it a crucial read for black women and those who love them because the quest for true good health begins with a self-assessment. Forty people, including members of the Atlanta-based National Black Women's Health Project, helped Villarosa research and write this book. It is power that few can afford to pass up.