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ABOUT THE BOOK
With exceptional sincerity, Icelandic author and former soccer player Lára Kristín Pedersen opens up and talks about her shocking battle with food addiction, which she has struggled with for years while playing her sport vigorously in Iceland and abroad.
Lára had tried to seek help in many places, but all channels seemed closed everywhere she looked. She felt like she was alone underground, in the soil, darkness all around, with no way out. The discussion on food addiction didn't seem to exist and the remedies even less so, least not for a young woman in sports who herself had to overcome the shame and realize the root of the problem - addiction.
With Being in the Soil, Lára lends an important and valuable voice to the fight for the recognition of food addiction. Readers get a glimpse into the mind of a food addict as Lára writes in diary form about her search for recovery, the growth that followed, the downfalls that can accompany the disease and how it is possible to blossom despite dealing with an addiction.
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In 2023, Lára received the prestigious Storytel Award for Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year. Chosen through both public voting and a jury selection, Being in the Soil resonated deeply with readers, who unanimously agreed it was a powerful and essential story that deserves to be shared with the world.
The jury shared the following remarks about the book:
“Being in the Soil – Memoirs of a Food Addict by Lára Kristín Pedersen is a powerful and courageous account that offers a sharp and vivid portrayal of the struggle of food addiction – a topic that is often shrouded in silence and misunderstood. With sincerity, honesty, and deep self-reflection, the author opens her heart to the readers and guides them into a world where addiction appears in a hidden form, yet is no less harmful or complex. Lára Kristín lays herself bare, holding nothing back, and does not shy away from confronting the pain, adversity, and self-image shaped by addiction. Her story is not only a testimony of personal experience but also an important contribution to a conversation that touches more lives than many may be willing to admit.”
REVIEWS
“Truly heartfelt”
Absolutely amazing book! A truly moving and heartfelt narrative that is all at once shocking, sad, beautiful and heartbreaking. Lára reveals herself in an admirable way, which will undoubtedly help people in the same situation, as well as others who are not familiar with the disease of addiction.
Ingileif Friðriksdóttir
Author & Activist
“Unique book”
Being in the Soil is a unique book. The author is so uncomfortably honest that you find yourself confronting yourself throughout the whole reading.
Máni Pétursson
Sports Commentator
“Beautiful and enlightening”
Honest, raw, dark, but also beautiful and enlightening. Really well written and describes the shocking struggle of a leading footballer with food addiction, a disease that is not yet recognized by the system.
Hulda G. Geirsdóttir
Radio Interviewer
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