cover image The Fighting Spirit: The Art of Winning Your Fight

The Fighting Spirit: The Art of Winning Your Fight

Mary McAlary and George Foreman III. Changing Lives (Midpoint, dist.), $21.99 (120p) ISBN 978-0-99043-962-2

Holistic nutritionist McAlary and former boxer George Foreman III team up for a slim primer on maintaining strength, mental and physical, in the face of adversity. Foreman met McAlary while preparing to launch his new fitness brand, Everyday Fighters, and was inspired by her success story. McAlary, who had been diagnosed with MS and told she would be confined to a wheelchair, stopped taking the medication that was only worsening her condition and, encouraged by her daughter, enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. After graduating, she began coaching others with chronic illnesses on how to "listen to their bodies" and eat more healthily, promising that this,, combined with exercise, can eliminate the need for medications with potentially damaging side effects. As evidence, McAlary cites her own journey with her illness, recently downgraded to "benign" and with no wheelchair in sight. Alongside this story, Foreman presents his "Fight Laws," from maintaining a "glaring will to win," to "always throwing the first punch," to the time-honored "Your best defense is your offense." McAlary also provides specific dietary "tips for sustainable wellness," a true story about the power of positive thinking, and a few starter recipes for eating healthy. While well-intentioned and certainly inspirational, this very brief book reads not unlike a brochure. Agent: Jonathan Wiener. (Jan.)