Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent
This is an excellent book. ...I would recommend this book to those suffering from an eating disorder, or to the friends and family of a sufferer as it gives great inssight.

DANGERS OF DIETING
I read the novel 'Catherine' a few years ago, and it deeply saddened me. 'Catherine' is written by the mother of a twenty-two year old girl who diedof anorexia nervosa in 1984.

The testimony is a brave and frank accountof Catherine's terrible illness which gripped her from the age of fifteenyears old.It intersperses extracts from Catherine's diary, which show thetragic mental and physical effect this illness had on her.Her diaryrecords her food intake, and her weight, which tragically plummets to 3stone when she dies.

It touches on her childhood days, where Catherinewas a happy and bubbly child, and continues throughout the development ofher illness.

I would recommend this book to anyone, especially younggirls considering dieting.It shows how out of hand dieting can be, andcertainly a great help to those suffering from anorexia. I myself sufferedfrom this illness, and this book gave me some strength to battle with it. I didn't want to die like Catherine, and the many other girls who die eachyear from this horrifying condition.

truthful insight into an often romaticised world
eating disorders are often romanticised; few know of the realpain which they cause, and courage which they demand, in both thesufferer and the family members and friends.this touching documentary of a young girls struggle with, and eventual defeat by anorexia nervosa is openly told by her mother and accompanied by excerts from her diaries.as the book so truthfully details catherine's behaviours, it may be disturbing to the unaware, tear-wrenching to those directly/indirectly affected but yet also so critical to the understanding of the seriousness of these psychological disorders.

sad but true
This book tells of the reality of anorexia nervosa. The stress on the family; the ineffectiveness of treatment (which still goes on today); the states of the Catherine's mind. It's one for the parents of eating disorderchildren.

The only real Life book that I have ever appriciated
I thought that I would be shocked by this book, and touched to a new level.I was.I was shocked by how any person could ever feel the way Catherine did and also shocked that there was a book written by a Motherabout her daughter dying.Howvever, it was so incredibly moving and itreduces me to tears every time I read it.Bettered only by Love Story(Segal). ... Read more

Product Description
This book brings together the key ideas of therapists on understanding and treating anorexia nervosa. It provides the reader with a survey of the history, psychodynamics, family patterns and techniques of therapy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great begining"Clincal" bookfor laymen interested in EDs
If anyone is interested in reading a more "clinical" book on eating disorders (ie designed more for therapists) a greatplace to start is :

" Insights in Dynamic Psychotherapy of Anorexia and Bullimia: An Introduction to the Literature"

This rather slender volume is arranged in a MOST unusual way. Each chapter is comprised of selected, and independantly presented little "gems" pulled from the writings of important researchers in the field, arranged cronologically. You get one or two pithy paragraphs from one person, followed by a paragraph or so from another.

This makes for a VERY easy read, one that you can pick up and put down with ease, and each brief exerpt strives to be a "pearl of wisdom" reguarding the particular topic each chapter addresses.

Be aware that this book is comes from the "Psychodynamic" school of treatment for EDs........rather than Cognative Behavioral Therapy (CBT, or "learning theory") direction.

If CBT is just not working for your child, "Psychodynamic" is the alternate that would usually be turned to next.

Whatever the case, this is a wonderful book, and will quickly give you some ideas as to what sorts of things therapists take into consideration when working with people with EDs.

Don't be put off by it being a bit older, it is really worth the read. ... Read more

Product Description
“Appetite for Life is a breakthrough in the field of eating disorders and for those who suffer from them. Through real-life stories of inspiration and recovery, Margie Ryerson’s fresh, effective approach proves that it is possible to triumph over eating disorders and live a healthy, happy life. Not only will I use Margie’s powerful examples in my own practice, I will also recommend her book to all my clients, their families, and all the eating disorder professionals I know.”
—Debra Waterhouse MPH, RD, best-selling author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell and Outsmarting the Mother/Daughter Food Trap

Customer Reviews (5)

Heartfelt and Excellent
I'm 18 years old and suffer from anorexia. I am currently in the process of recovering. I really enjoyed reading this book because it gave me hope that I can recover. There were also some very useful tips and suggestions mentioned. However, my only qualm is the fact that more than one of the stories focused on how having children saved the eating disorder sufferer's life. I can appreciate this and while it's a very valid point, it is not a tool I can currently use. I only wish there were more examples in regards to how people found a life outside of their abusive relationships with food.

If you struggle with an eating disorder, I would HIGHLY recommend "Appetite for Life."

A decent overview of eating disorders
As an eating disorder counselor, I've worked with over two thousand women with eating disorders at an inpatient treatment facility.This book gives a good overview of what an eating disorder is, what it can do to a life, and the great changes that come with recovery.But it is just that, an overview.Because the stories are short, they cannot paint a deep picture of who these people (in the book) are, or the true self-destructive nature of eating disorders.This book is inspiring in that you will read about several people who have made significant changes in their lives for the better, but you will not come away with a particularly deep understanding of the diseases.This is a good book to read if you are hopeless about your own eating disorder, but not if you want to learn about eating disorders overall.

A Great Approach
I was very impressed with this book. I found that I could not even put it down! There is something wonderful about reading a book that focuses on people's lives and how they overcame terrible situations. "Appetite for Life" approaches eating disorders from a different angle, and I have already told all my friends, especially those with young daughters, to read it!

"Interesting and Educational"
"Appetite for Life" is one of the most interesting books that I have read on the subject of eating disorders. Reading about seven people and their experiences made the problem much more understandable than just a regular how-to book. I like how the author combines these stories and examples from her therapy practice. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about eating disorders.

Heart, Hope and really good information....
Having gone through my own recovery from compulsive overeating, I have found that books on this topic have often been either over-simplified and condescending, or complex and intimidating.Personal memoirs have been either overly dramatic and maudlin, or saccharinly sweet.Ryerson's compilation of stories is refreshingly free of all of these extremes.She adds clear prose and heartful insights to her clients' stories, so that the book reflects a tone of partnership, the kind of thing all of us could use when grappling with this topic:We're not alone, even when we might feel alone."Appetite for Life" did indeed inspire me - to keep on keeping on with my recovery, and in the process, I was moved to tears, smiles and some of my own insights about myself. This is the kind of book that would be great to read even if you're not a recovering addict - but want to be informed, and read some plain-ole-good stories while doing so.And what a gift this book will be for friends and family members still struggling. ... Read more

Product Description
Starvation eating disorders such as anorexia not only affect your body, but also take a devastating toll on your mind. Constantly feeling anxious about your weight, your appearance, and your self-worth can leave you mentally exhausted. And no matter how thin you become, it's impossible to be happy when you are controlled by anxious and obsessive thoughts.

If you're ready to stop letting your eating disorder run your life, Feeding the Starving Mind can help. As you work through the program in this book, you'll discover the source of your eating disorder, identify the compulsive thoughts that contribute to it, and take steps toward developing a healthy relationship with food and exercise.

• Develop a personal eating disorder profile
• Learn how to eat without purging and restore your weight
• Learn cognitive behavior therapy skills for managing weight-related anxiety and fear
• Create a treatment plan to restore your health and happiness
• Keep destructive thoughts and patterns of behavior from coming back

Product Description
Research suggests that anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, whilst not prevalent in the population, have the highest mortality rate of all psychological problems. The development of effective treatment programs is therefore an important priority for health care professionals. This flexible book has been designed for use by therapists as part of a programme when working with young people with eating disorders. The aim is to help young people understand more about their own experience, and alongside guidance ofr therapists it includes a complete workbook for use by the young persons themselves. This presents tasks ranging from reflective thinking to drawing to promote engagement with difficulties as a first step to overcoming them. The workbook will also be available as an electronic supplement so that therapists can select which sections should be used with whom, and when. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hunger for understanding
Wiley publishing house has over the years published several good books on eating disorders and especially anorexia nervosa. Alison Eivors, a clinical psychologist working in mental health services in Leicester, and Sophie Nesbitt, also a clinical psychologist, have produced a wonderful workbook as a therapeutic tool for work with young people referred with eating disorders.
"Hunger for understanding" should be used by mental health professionals working with adolescents (11-16 years old as the target group) with anorexia nervosa as one of the toolboxes in the intervention and treatment. All the resources are available on the Wiley website ([...]) and can be used in clinical sessions.
This book has four sections to explain the workbook: The purpose, psychological interventions, therapeutic challenges and discussion of the contents of the workbook, which fills the first 32 pages. The workbook in itself is in eleven sections with many work tasks for the adolescent to perform.
This is an important tool for the therapist and not a book for the patient to read alone, but rather to work together through the intervention process.

[...] ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fanily Therapy
Recommended for those in the Helping Professions especially those working with Families as Family Counselors/Therapists from one on the intellectual giants in the field Salvador Minuchin whose genius becomes apparent as a change agent during his Therapy Sessions .

Nestor Mantilla

blaming the parents again
I read this book back in graduate school, and, knowing nothing then about living with an adolescent with anorexia, it seemed to me to be a perfectly fine text. However, now we've crossed over that bridge, and saw this develop in our daughter regardless of how we tried to prevent it.

Blaming the parents is toxic, unhelpful, and thoughtless. Assigning causality (and thus blame) to traits you find in families going through these difficult situations when you should recognize that correlation is not the same as causality is really toxic. We no longer talk about the "schizophrenigenic" parent, and it is cruel to blame parents for their children developing a brain disease or disorder.

Excellent Study of the Role of Family in Anorexia Nervosa
In "Psychosomatic Families: Anorexia Nervosa in Context,"Salvador Minuchin and his co-authors argue that anorexia nervosa is not a neurosis that is limited to an isolated individual.On the contrary, they argue that anorexia belongs to an ailing social structure--specifically, that of the family.Minuchin's analyses of a variety of family therapy sessions both support this claim and reveal a number of communication patterns that are typically found in anorectic families--such as enmeshment, excessive tendencies to nurture or protect, and the failure to acknowledge or address emotional claims.Minuchin offers a unique and compelling analysis of anorexia nervosa that will be of interest to those who are studying or treating the neurosis as well as to those who are struggling with anorexia nervosa in their own lives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

intellectually interesting
Sometimes this gets a little braniac for me, but it addresses some interesting emotional causes.

Brilliant insights
Woodman wrote about eating disorders before they were vogue. Her personal insights through her own eating disorder and those of ther clients offer a deep look into these disorders. If you don't buy the Jungian perspective don't buy this book. But if you do you will find it well worth the price.

Far from the *WORST* book I have ever read
Marion Goodman is one of the foremost Jungian Analysts in the world.I have found ALL of her books, including "Owl Was A Baker's Daughter" to be exceptionally compassionate towards women.She has great reserves of empathy and profoundly subtle insights into feminine psychology.This book explores a very painful aspect of many women's lives, and the exploration is undertaken with scrupulous honesty, integrity and wisdom.

The Worse Book I Have Ever Read.
I find Jungian analysis interesting however this book is the most hateful book towards women, and fat people that I have ever read. The author has the most hateful attitude towards anyone that has any weight problems. She uses all the worse stereotypes towards people in these predicaments to forward her "theories" which ignore everything scientific about the human body. I guess in Woodmans world, we are all supposed to be stick thin and if we are not, this means we are psychologically disturbed. I think this author somehow felt morally superior to the women she was writing about. The horrible thing is she had case studies about "obese women" and they averaged ONLY 160lbs! Shocking. A sad disaster of a book. A hate manifesto disguised as intellectual enterprise. ... Read more

Product Description
"Today, I see the link between my feelings of crazinessand loss of control over my own life and my need to place rigidrestraints on my weight and eating.

"When other areas of my life felt out of control, there was always onething I knew I could control. My weight and eating became the focus ofmy life, and all of my other troubles were forgotten -- at leasttemporarily."

From The Long Road Back: A Survivor's Guide to Anorexia

Each year, in the United States alone, thousands die of the eatingdisorder anorexia nervosa, which carries the highest mortality rate ofany psychiatric disorder. To make matters worse, it is some of ourbrightest and best young people (more than 90 percent of them females)whose lives are lost to this insidious illness.

Anorexia is characterized by a refusal to maintain a minimally normalbody weight. The individual suffering from it is intensely afraid ofgaining weight, and has a distorted perception of the size and shapeof his or her body. Unless there is successful intervention andtreatment, the anorexic may die of starvation, suicide, or electrolyteimbalance.

In THE LONG ROAD BACK, Judy Sargent tells the story of her ten-yearstruggle with anorexia, which began to manifest when she wasthirteen. As it progressed, the disease repeatedly brought her weightto life-threatening lows of less than seventy pounds.

Now completely recovered, and pursuing a career as a clinical nursespecialist, Sargent details in this book her return to health and anormal life. She writes with an honesty, humor, and insight that makeher fascinating and harrowing story all the more absorbing. Youngpeople afflicted with eating disorders (and those who love them) willfind hope, inspiration, and valid advice in these pages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Huge Disappointment
The title of this book should have been "The bad things doctors did to me while I was in the hospital."While going into explicit detail of her experience at several different treatment centers, she glosses over her recovery - the main thing her book is supposed to address.

I have read several books on the subject of anorexia, and I found this book to be the worst I have ever come accross.A complete waste of time and money.

A Testament to The Ultimate Human Fighting Spirit
This book is not just for current or past anorexic, but for everyone who has some serious setbacks in their lives. It is a true testament to the ultimate human fighting spirit.As far as anorexia is concerned, I find this book a real eye-opener to the many flaws of the mental health system where the doctors and nurses seem to be just as obessed with the patients gaining the weight, as the patients with losing it. I could not put this book down oce I started reading it. It left me wondering how Ms(?) Sargent is still alive today.It is even more amazing that not only she is leading a normal life, but she is only excelling in her career and her true passion of figure skating.It is a matter of time unil this gem is made into a movie.

Insightful and comprehensive look at anorexia
Sargent writes a passionate account of her battle with anorexia.She comes forth shining and gives others the hope that sustained her through her 'dark night of the soul'.She is truly an inspiration for anyone suffering with any eating disorder, compulsive eating included.A beautifully written and carefully detailed book.

The awful pain of anorexia
As an anorexic of several years, I was deeply affected by this book's account of another's suffering with the same disease.I alternately cried and was filled with anger by the descriptions of the often barbaric"treatments" the author was forced to endure.I have been insuch treatment centers, where the people who are supposed to be helpinginstead make patients feel less than human, by watching them eat as if itwere a circus sideshow and referring to them by numbers instead of names. These people think that the only thing an anorexic has to do to get betteris to eat and gain weight, and that's it.Wrong, wrong, wrong, as thisbook shows, and it's high time people started realizing it.No one starvesherself to make someone else suffer, or as a way of getting what she wants. Anorexia is a terrible, terrible disease that makes you want to just die. If you know someone who's suffering from this hell of a disease, treat thatperson with the utmost love, respect and compassion.Read this book tohelp you understand: No one CHOOSES to be anorexic, and no matter how manytimes the anorexic says, "Leave me alone, I'm fine," she reallydoes want help, deep down.It just has to be the right kind of help.

The Long Road Back
For some one who has experienced an eating disorder first hand, this is one of the most accurate portrayals that I have come across.In the book, Sargent tells about her struggles with therapists and hospitals.I foundthis to be more than true.This is an amazing book for any one, especiallyhealth care providers for those with eating disorders.I would reccommendit to every one. ... Read more

Product Description
Anorexia is a serious eating disorder.People with anorexia literally starve themselves, sometimes to death.This book explains who is at risk for developing anorexia, possible causes, the physical and psychological effects of the disorder and how it is treated. ... Read more

Product Description
Ever wonder what goes on inside the mind of a teenage girl trying to grow into a woman with an eating disorder? Find out in Nothing Left But Skin. A short poetry memoir of anorexia at its best. The negative, the mirror mirror anger, bowls full of depression, sprinkled with stress. Am I unforgiven in a secrecy of self starvation? Nothing left but skin is poetry that follows the author's 12 years of obsession with food and weight. A never ending battle that leads into the real issues swept into the dark closet until there's nothing left but skin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a promising new author
I am in the recovery process of a eating disorder. This book has helped me accept the dark issues. The words are a perfect match to the feelings that I sometimes feel or did feel.There is such beauty and remorse in Nothing Left but Skin that I have reread it 3 times.It is poetry at it bestby making me feel that its ok to be who I am no matter what size. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Anorexia," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Anorexia in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Anorexia when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Anorexia, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
A devoted pastor's wife, Anita Haney, describes her emotional, mental, physical, and even spiritual struggle with Anorexia Nervosa. Her insights are helpful to those who might struggle with this problem. ... Read more