Book Reviews

Booooook Reviews ;)

Hey chicas! Hope everyone is having a nice day. One more weekday and then it is the weekend babaaayy...hollah! So I thought about doing a lil post on some books I have recently read. Every since I got out of the hospital for my anorexia nervosa I have been a book worm...well kind of.

I have learned that reading is very enjoyable, relaxing, and a good way to get your mind off of things. All of these books are related to eating disorders. I thought as a way of recovery it would be beneficial to learn more about other peoples stories and struggles through eating disorders.

Life Without Ed by Jenni Schaefer

This book is written by Jenni Schaefer who has had an abusive relationship with ED (Eating Disorder) for a long time. ED controlled everything in her life and it was destroying her. She later meets a psychotherapist Thom who teaches Jenni how to treat her eating disorder as a relationship rather than a condition. Soon Jenni was able to break free of ED at last. She discovers the road to recovery can be fun, exciting, and filled with laughter.

First of let me just say this book is A MUST READ ! If you are struggling from an eating disorder I highly recommend reading this book. This book was flying around like a hot potato while I was inpatient and every girl reading it said it was simply amazing. I decided to wait until I got home to purchase this book and read it on my own. Once I picked up this book I did not want to put it down because it was sooo good! I really enjoyed this book because there was just so many things I could relate to. I would give this book 5 STARS out of 5 =)

-----------------------------------------------

Homesick: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Finding Hope by Jenny Lauren

Jenny Lauren is the main character in this book, the niece of fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Since her uncle and dad are in the fashion business it did not take Jenny a long time to figure out she was less than perfect. She first starved herself at a young age of 10, in her later years she began bingeing, purging, and compulsively exercising. She later went under surgery because her colon herniated and at 24 years old she was living in severe pain and decided to write this book. This book tells the story of Jenny Lauren and how she dealt with anorexia and bulimia. She also focuses on family and social issues, pressure from others, and the search for herself.

I enjoyed reading Homesick and overall thought it was a good read. I would give this book 3 stars.

---------------------------------------------

Wasted by Marya Hornbacher

This book was about a talented young woman who struggled with hunger, drugs, sex, and almost death. Marya talks about her dealings with anorexia and bulimia and how she lost her friends, family, jobs, and everything else she had going for her. During her college years she experiences a horrifying bout with the disease and put the romance of wasting away to rest forever. During her lifetime she was hospitalized five times and had tons of therapy sessions. Wasted is a story of Marya's travel to find herself again on her own.

Personally I thought this book was just okay. To me it seemed like it dealt with more things other than just her eating disorder. But don't get me wrong this book did talk about eating disorders. I thought this book was okay. I gave this book a 3 stars.
------------------------------------------------

Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders by Aimee Liu

While I was in treatment a girl was reading this book and it looked like a good pick. So when I got home and finished my other books I ordered it on line. I know your not supposed to judge a book by it's cover...but just by looking at the cover with the girl jumping up on the beach just looked like a very inspirational and happy book to read. Aimee Liu wrote her first book, Solitare documenting her teenage years with anorexia nervosa. Now as Liu is older she wrote Gaining which she writes about many myths surrounding eating disorders, and also has research and interviews with former anorexics and bulimics. She interviews men and women of different races, cultures, and backgrounds to clarify that eating disorders do not just effect "modern rich white girls." She also talks about the impact of families, talks about genetics, shame, and personality. She incorporates a lot of facts and interviews which make this book very interesting.

I reallllly enjoyed reading this book and I rated it a 4 out of 5 stars!

------------------------------------------------

Giveaway time! Check out Healthy Skinny today for her giveaway :)