Book picks similar to
Safety in Numbers: From 56 to 221 Pounds, My Battle with Eating Disorders by Brittany Burgunder
nonfiction
memoir
non-fiction
mental-illness
Love Fat
Tabitha Farrar - 2015
Tabitha Farrar became ill with anorexia at seventeen. This book describes her ten-year struggle with the disease and dispels many myths about eatings disorders. During her recovery, she felt bombarded with all sorts of conflicting advice on food and diet. An avid researcher, she became obsessed with nutritional science and "healthy" eating. Despite all the literature that informed her she was eating the right things, her body rebelled against her low-fat diet and ultra-healthy eating plans. Stuck in a battle between her head and her gut, who would have ever thought that she would learn to Love Fat.
Starved
Michael Somers - 2012
The night his mother finds him collapsed in the living room is the night he nearly dies from his starvation. He is rushed to the hospital and admitted to an adolescent eating disorders unit. He weighs 112 pounds.Nathan rebels by pretending to go along with the program at first, until his parents refuse to help in his recovery. With only his treatment team and fellow patients to rely on, Nathan comes to terms with the boy who lost himself and the young man who gains himself back, one pound at a time.
It Was Me All Along
Andie Mitchell - 2015
At 5' 9"--even knowing that she was big and hating herself for it--she was stunned. How had she gotten there? Without following wild diet trends, she lost 135 pounds over thirteen months and has kept it off for six years.It Was Me All Along shares the at times heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting and motivating, story of how Andie kicked her habit of binge eating, which she developed during a traumatic childhood, and developed a healthy relationship with food, which she still loves to cook and enjoy. Her story is at once familiar and inspiring to millions who have struggled with weight and self-image issues. Andie is a powerful motivator who bravely bares all to help others.
Bronte's Story: Tears, Trials and Triumphs: A Personal Battle with Anorexia
Bronte Cullis - 2004
Bronte's parents knew their daughter would die unless they did something drastic. They mortgaged the family home, sold what they could and sent Bronte to the Montreux Clinic, an unconventional eating disorder clinic in Canada. It was Bronte's last chance at survival. . . Bronte kept diaries from diagnosis to recovery. This is her story.
Perfect: Anorexia & Me
Emily Halban - 2008
She went on to college at an Ivy League school where her disease took on a powerful dimension. By her final year she was so debilitated that she had to take her exams in a separate room where she could be fed continuously. With heartbreaking candor and poignant intimacy, Emily vividly chronicles the complexities and inner struggles of living with anorexia. She traces her disease from its elusive origins, through its darkest moments of deprivation, guilt, and self-loathing. As she recounts her journey towards recovery, Emily draws us into her raw experience of anorexia, exposing its secrets and dispelling some of the myths that shroud it. Beautifully written and alive with self-awareness, but never self-pity, this inspiring read will offer those battling with this all-consuming disease a glimpse of perspective and hope, and help those on the outside to understand more.
Starving in Search of Me: A Coming-of-Age Story of Overcoming an Eating Disorder and Finding Self-Acceptance
Marissa LaRocca - 2017
Activist author Marissa LaRocca's revelatory tale includes her struggle with her secrets, including sexuality, and how she emerged as an outspoken advocate for gay rights and women’s health issues.Anorexia and bulimia health crisis: Many young women and girls struggle with the body image issues that engender eating disorders with elaborate rituals around food, binging, purging, and hiding it all while trying to maintain a face of normalcy to the world. Anorexia and bulimia have become major national health crises with skyrocketing statistics indicating that between 3 and 5% of the population suffer anorexia nervosa alone. Sadly, many never attain the sense of being “normal” and deal with a lifetime of body image and self-esteem issues.Coming of age story of a woman battling for self-esteem: This intimate account of courage and the search for truth and meaning will have you rooting for Marissa LaRocca as she unravels the emotional layers of her own battle with food, body image, and sexuality. Readers of this riveting memoir, Starving in Search of Me, will relate to the coming-of-age story of a young woman confronting some of life’s major issues while living, for a time, in two closets: one to hide her eating disorder and one to hide her sexuality and very identity.
What You'll Learn Inside This Book:
Identify the root causes, symptoms, and triggers associated with an eating disorder
Acknowledge the "life issues" that are being masked by "food issues" or another addiction
Disempower compulsive behaviors like binging, purging, and obsessing about calories and exercise
Heal your relationship with food through healing your relationship with yourself
Escape the victim role, become empowered, and take responsibility for your own happiness
Connect with your life’s purpose and authentic self, transforming your weaknesses into strengths
Free your mind through tuning in to the body and witnessing emotions
Improve your body image and self-esteem by aligning your lifestyle with your true values, desires, and what is realistic
Effectively communicate your needs with confidence
Establish guilt-free lifestyle boundaries to reduce anxiety and maximize vitality
Enhance peace of mind by developing a reliable support system
Eliminate the need to be perfect by practicing forgiveness and compassion toward yourself
Good Girls Do Swallow: The Darkly Comic True Story of How One Woman Stopped Hating Her Body
Rachael Oakes-Ash - 2001
She went through anorexia, bulimia, bulimarexia, gym mania, strict dieting and binge eating before she finally she figured out how to stop torturing herself and hating her body. Good Girls Do Swallow is the very black and very funny story of her downfall and her recovery.Rachael might have taken things further than many of us, but this is a story every woman can relate to. You might not have rescued food from the rubbish bin in a moment of binge-madness but if you've ever felt lousy and reached for a chocolate biscuit for comfort, this book is for you.'What the diet promised, I got,' writes Rachael. `I got the body that can wear the clothes. I got the job I love, I got the man I want. But I only got it for keeps when I stopped dieting.' From the Carol Brady Syndrome and Thindarella to Mutiny in Aisle Six, Good Girls Do Swallow tells how she did it.
Diary of an Anorexic Girl
Morgan Menzie - 2003
Her amazing story is told through the journals she kept during her daily struggle with this addiction and disease. Her triumphs and tragedies all unfold together in this beautiful story of God's grace.Features include: daily eating schedule, journal entries, prayers to God, poems, and what she wished she knew at the time. It's the true story of victory over a disease that is killing America's youth.
Unwell
Leslie Lipton - 2006
Ms. Lipton conveys a touching portrayal of the struggles involved with trying to overcome this illness." -Cynthia R. Pegler, MD, Adolescent Medicine Specialist "A riveting and sensitive journey into the world of a teenage girl plagued by Anorexia Nervosa. A detailed, realistic account of the internal struggles and conflicts that exist in the mind of someone with an eating disorder. An important book to read for anyone dealing with a loved one with anorexia." -Jane Karp, MD Psychiatrist "Lipton's 'Unwell' is extremely well written and invites the reader into the candid journey of an eating disordered girl and her thoughts. This is a valuable read for parents as they try to understand this complicated illness from the inside out." -Lynn Grefe CEO, National Eating Disorders Association
Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too
Jenni Schaefer - 2003
He controlled Jenni’s life, distorted her self-image, and tried to physically harm her throughout their long affair. Then, in therapy, Jenni learned to treat her eating disorder as a relationship, not a condition. By thinking of her eating disorder as a unique personality separate from her own, Jenni was able to break up with Ed once and for all.Inspiring, compassionate, and filled with practical exercises to help you break up with your own personal E.D., "Life Without Ed" provides hope to the millions of people plagued by eating disorders. Beginning with Jenni’s “divorce” from Ed, this supportive, lifesaving book combines a patient’s insights and experiences with a therapist’s prescriptions for success to help you live a healthier, happier life without Ed.
Brain over Binge: Why I Was Bulimic, Why Conventional Therapy Didn't Work, and How I Recovered for Good
Kathryn Hansen - 2011
The author, Kathryn Hansen, candidly shares her experience as a bulimic and her alternative approach to recovery. Brain over Binge is different than other eating disorder books which typically present binge eating and purging as symptoms of complex emotional and psychological problems. Kathryn disputes this mainstream idea and explains why traditional eating disorder therapy failed her and fails many. She explains how she came to understand her bulimia in a new way – as a function of her brain, and how she used the power of her brain to recover – quickly and permanently. Kathryn also sheds new light on eating disorder topics such as low self-esteem, poor body image, and dieting. Brain over Binge is a brave book that will help many by delivering an informed and inspiring message of free will, self-reliance, and self-control.
Catherine: The Story of a Young Girl Who Died of Anorexia
Maureen Dunbar - 1986
Catherine Dunbar died on 2 January 1984, a young woman of twenty-two who had finally lost her seven-year battle against Anorexia Nervosa.Catherine is her mother's brave and frank account of her daughter's illness interspersed with extracts from Catherine's diary.A powerful and moving true account of Catherine's tragic life.
Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves
Crystal Renn - 2009
An inspiring and cautionary tale for women of all ages, Hungry is an uplifting memoir with a universal message about body image, beauty and self-confidence.
Stand Tall Little Girl: Facing Up to Anorexia
Hope Virgo - 2016
but she will destroy you and everything around you, piece by piece.' - Hope Virgo. For four years, Hope managed to keep it hidden, keeping dark secrets from friends and family. But then, on 17th November 2007, Hope's world changed forever. She was admitted to a mental health hospital. Her skin was yellowing, her heart was failing. She was barely recognizable. Forced to leave her family and friends, the hospital became her home. Over the next year, at her lowest ebb, Hope faced the biggest challenge of her life. She had to find the courage to beat her anorexia. In Stand Tall Little Girl, Hope shares her harrowing, yet truly inspiring, journey.
The Time in Between: A Memoir of Hunger and Hope
Nancy Tucker - 2014
She thought, and thought, and then, though she didn’t know why, she wrote: ‘I want to be thin.’Over the next twelve years, she developed anorexia nervosa, was hospitalised, and finally swung the other way towards bulimia nervosa. She left school, rejoined school; went in and out of therapy; ebbed in and out of life. From the bleak reality of a body breaking down to the electric mental highs of starvation, hers has been a life held in thrall by food.Told with remarkable insight, dark humour and acute intelligence, The Time in Between is a profound, important window into the workings of an unquiet mind – a Wasted for the 21st century.