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From having so much free time I have been able to catch up with some reading, and recently re-read the following book that I am going to review. I feel I am slowly starting to heal and slowly come to terms with the loss of a friend, and hopefully get things back to how they were. I think the plan once I leave hospital will be to go into supported housing again. It has helped me in the past so I am hopefully it will help me again. I have been receiving so much support from friends which I am internally grateful for. I honestly don't think I would have been able to pull through this without them.
Biting Anorexia- By Lucy Howard-Taylor
Many books I have read on anorexia especially those that are an auto-biography can be triggering with the inclusion of weights, BMI’s, and food consumed. However I found this book to be a powerful, insightful memoir of anorexia.
Split primarily into three section, The Dark; where the author talks about living in the depths of the illness, which offers an insightful and brutally honest account of that anorexic voice that many suffers will relate too. Reading the final page of this section is extremely harrowing as it poetically describes what it is like living with anorexia and the sheer grip it can hold on you.
The Gray; is the next section of the book; which the author talks about her journey of recovery and finding her place in the world again, whilst recovering from an eating disorder and depression. What I like about this, is how honest she is with her journey of recovery. This sentence really echoed with me
“It is indescribly difficult, writing this. I cannot seem to find words for how excruciating choosing between anorexia and life was. This will not make sense to you, or perhaps (unfortunately) will “.
She talks of her struggles with bingeing, body image, depression, relationships and low self esteem in a poetic, but easy to read and understand format.
The final part of the book “The Light” Howard-Taylor gives advice on what has been beneficial in her journey of recovery, and how it is possible to move on from anorexia. What I liked about the ending was her honesty that yes she is at a healthy BMI and the anorexia and depression don’t dominate her life, but she will still have those bad body image days and will still need to take medication to counteract the depression.
I decided to review this mainly because it was my Mum that took so much from this book. She had passed it around to all her friends, she has read a few books on anorexia but this one really appeared to echo with her. Where I think for the first time she really understood it. Throughout the book the author’s sense of humour is highlighted, and it truly captures the challenges that occur with recovery. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in recovery from anorexia, or even looking to understand the illness that many people who haven’t had lived experience often misunderstand.
Their is also a really good pro recovery forum which the author was one of the first members of which offers support to those in recovery from any eating disorder.
