Luminary Interview: Dr. Alison Cook

Rule of Life

Practicing the Way

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 700 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2023

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After discussing the ancient practice of fasting — its origins, practicalities, and benefits — the questions still remain: What about those of us with a history of disordered eating? Or a medical condition that prevents us from fasting? How do I know if it is healthy for me to fast? Am I missing out if I struggle in this way?

This final episode of the Fasting series dives into these questions alongside Dr. Alison Cook, a licensed therapist, author, and podcast host. Originally from Wyoming, Alison studied at Dartmouth College (B.A.), Denver Seminary (M.A.), and the University of Denver (Ph.D.), where she specialized in integrating psychology and theology. Alison’s doctoral dissertation centered on the relationship between religion and prejudice. She is certified in Internal Family Systems Therapy and spent many years practicing in a clinic that served individuals with eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Alison has written two books: Boundaries for Your Soul and The Best of You. Find out more at https://www.dralisoncook.com/.

This podcast accompanies the Fasting Practice, developed by Practicing the Way. Thanks to the generosity of The Circle, all Practices are free. To learn more about The Circle or to run a Practice with your church, community, or small group, visit www.practicingtheway.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Rule of Life podcast by practicing the way.
0:09.7	In each season, we explore an ancient practice from the way of Jesus and its relevance
0:15.6	for the modern era.
0:17.6	This is Season 3, Fasting. Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Rule of Life podcast. You are listening to a bonus episode from the fasting series. A little backstory. Before we developed the fasting practice, we created an online venue for people to ask questions, to kind of
0:55.5	give shape to the teaching content for the practice itself. And one third of the questions
1:01.4	were about the complex relationship between fasting and eating disorders, body shame, diet
1:10.3	culture, and a whole bunch of other stuff connected to that.
1:13.6	In the West, so many of us struggle to maintain a healthy relationship to our body and to food.
1:19.6	This struggle is acute for a lot of people, but especially for women,
1:25.6	due to all sorts of cultural forces that we hope to explore in this episode.
1:30.3	And we felt it would be a good use of time to explore these questions,
1:34.3	but also felt the need to bring in a wise female voice with expertise in this area.
1:40.3	On that note, I am here, your meaning on the internet or on other sides of the country,
1:46.0	with Dr. Allison Cook. Good morning. Dr. Cook. How are you today?
1:50.6	Oh, I'm well. Thank you for having me. Please call me Allison.
1:54.9	I don't know. You were in school for a long time. I feel like you more than earned a doctor.
2:00.5	If I was in school that long,
2:02.2	I would say call me Dr. Comer, but it's a good thing I was not. We all earn a doctorate
2:08.9	in one way or the other. That's what I've learned. Some of us get in school. Now, you are in Boston.
2:14.4	I've never been to Boston. That's on the list of cities I would love to visit,
2:19.6	but I hear it's basically freezing cold winters and blistering humid summer, but we're recording
2:26.5	this in May. Are you in that sliver of weather in between or is it still winter? No, there is
	...

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