Ayelet speaks to and for me in this article. I am almost 55 and if I could reclaim the amount of time and energy I have spent obsessing about food and my weight, my life would seem decades longer. I do not worry about my daughter, and I do not research anorexia, but what really hits home for me in this writing is the damage we do to ourselves.

We may choose to blame genetics, the media, our ethnicity or other factor. The tragedy here is that we waste precious time thinking and suffering about this issue.

I have read many times in many places that "losing weight doesn't make you happy". That is a load of crap. It is easier to live in this country when you are thin, and I for one, am happy when I can fit into and look good in anything I want. My behaviour changes when I am thin; when I am overweight I limit my social contacts and my activities. I get depressed. This is simply the truth for me.

I am not an intellectual lightweight (pun intended) nor a shallow person. But let's be real. Life is easier (and better) for those women who are not fat.

I agree that "Lost" has lost me. I loved the first season and the second season was pretty good, but, yes, when Michael killed Anna Lucia, it was clear that the writers no longer knew where they were going, and that they, along with their wonderful and interesting characters, were lost without a lifeboat.

This season has been painful to watch. Rather than revealing of character or story, it has been merely a show of sadistic behavior and victimization. I can get that from the news, thank you very much.

The "finale" of this first "mini-season" left me cold. I don't think Sawyer will be shot, but, even sadder, I no longer care.

The creators of this series seem to be suffering from a severe case of ADD; I sense they are already interested in their next project, and "Lost" has become a pain in the ass for them.

Well, it's become that for me as well.

Wow, I could have written your letter myself. But that was before my kids were born.

There is no piece of advice that can prepare you for what is about to happen to you; nobody can ease you into parenthood. When I became a mother, I was in grad school full time and I had two part time jobs. I was fantastic at time management and knew that having a child was something I would be able to "handle", even with my busy schedule. I was, frankly, ambivalent about even having children, but my spouse "convinced" me.

What nobody could have prepared me for was the depth of love, devotion and commitment that I would feel for my child. I fell into motherhood much the way people fall in love for the first time. I wasn't prepared; I couldn't have been prepared. And like it or not, becoming a mother has irrevocably changed who I am. Yes, I am a mother. I am other things as well, but my children are in my consciousness all the time. My kids are teens now and they are quite independent. Still, being a mother continues to define me.

Perhaps this is what biology does to us; perhaps something else is at work here. Nevertheless, you are about to have an experience that will fundamentally change who you are, whether you like it or not, forever.

I hope you share your transformation with us.