Eating disorder books can provide you with the information you need to recover from an eating disorder or to help someone who might be suffering.
Books on eating disorders are a helpful resource for those suffering from an eating disorder or watching someone suffer from an eating disorder.
Inner Hunger
By Marianne Apostolides
REVIEW “Inner Hunger”, May 22, 2002
By Meagan (Tolland County, CT)
The novel, “Inner Hunger” by Marianne Apostolides, is about a young girl who struggles with the effects of Anorexia and Bulimia. This book is full of advice to victims, parents, friends, teachers’ etc. Although, I have not experienced one of these eating disorders, the author has and it make the novel all the better. The reader gets an inside view of what life is like with anorexia or bulimia.
Approximately, one out of ten teenage girls is affected by any of these eating disorders. They most likely to this because they don’t feel pretty enough, or cool enough, or smart or judged unfairly. They feel as if this is the only way they are going to feel loved or be happy. But, after the disorder has destroyed their bodies, they realize that it wasn’t worth the pain and the struggle.
These novel gives excellent advice to loved ones and people dealing with someone that had an eating disorder. This advice is practical, so it may not seem as it would be the right thing to do. But, coming from a survivor of both anorexia and bulimia, it means a lot.
I think that anyone that is struggling with the disease or knows someone, who is, should read this book. Even if you just are interested in the subject. Then is would be a good book for them, also. The novel gives an excellent insight of the diseases to lets people realize the harm that can be done by using them. Everyone should be informed and aware of eating disorders for themselves and other they may care about. That’s why I give this book a five star rating.
Leaving Food Behind
By Sheila Mather
REVIEW: True,Real,Factual and Spiritual, February 27, 2000
By hrussell (Los Angeles, CA)
This book goes against many of the “medical” theories for recovery from Bulimia, Anorexia and compulsive overeating. But in view of medicine’s dramatic lack of success and the author’s eminent success, I’ll go with her beautifully described re-attachment of her soul and her spirit as the basis for her Recovery. WOW! What a book! Honest. Forthright. Personal, pain and all. Anyone who has suffered from an Eating Disorder will be so encouraged by reading it! Thank you, Sheila!
The Passion Of Alice
By Stephanie Grant
REVIEW: Fantastic, April 25, 2007
By Uh huh
There are so many books in this genre that deal mostly with the obsession and downward spiral of becoming an anorectic. I found it refreshing that Stephanie Grant focused more on a story as opposed to only the diseases. Her take on bulimia was pretty brilliant. I cringed with Alice as she witnessed these types of behaviour. Not only that, but I genuinely wanted to know about all of the other characters, and why they were there. Even the reticent compulsive overeater. This is a book that spans many different types of eating issues, with a story to keep you interested. If you have a problem with alternative sexual lifestyles this isn’t for you. The title is “Passion of Alice”. Guess what? She falls in love with a girl.
Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa: A Family-Based Approach
By James Lock (Editor), Daniel Le Grange (Editor), W. Stewart Agras (Editor), Christopher Dare (Editor)
REVIEW: An Excellent Resource for Clinicians!, May 11, 2008
By Deborah Okon, Ph.D. (Belen, NM)
This is an excellent book for clinicians treating teens struggling with Anorexia. This model taps into the power of the family to successfully fight this horrible disorder. I also highly recommend Help Your Teenager Beat An Eating Disorder, a well-written guide for the clinician and an outstanding resource for parents!!
Lost For Words
The Psychoanalysis of Anorexia and Bulimia
By Em Farrel
REVIEW: Challenging, informative, “reader friendly” survey., September 4, 2000
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
In Lost For Words, psychoanalytic psychotherapist Em Farrell presents a challenging and informative survey on the psychoanalysis of patients suffering with anorexia or bulimia. After concluding his informative introduction, Farrell surveys our psychoanalytic understands of these conditions, then explores the body and “body products” as transitional objects and phenomena within the context of psychoanalytic theory, details implications for psychotherapeutic techniques, and finishing with a thought-provoking conclusion. Lost For Words is highly recommended reading on the subjects of anorexia and bulimia for students of psychology, as well as practicing counselors and clinical therapists
The Long Road Back – A Survivor’s Guide To Anorexia
By Judy Tam Sargent
REVIEW: An Excellent Map of One Journey Back from Anorexia!!!, May 20, 1999
By A Customer
Sargent herself identifies the key to the story of her struggle against anorexia: “Probably the most important turning point in my recovery was my decision to become an active participant in the process.” The truth in this proactive perspective of personal responsibility is all the more intensified by a history of being subjected to unenlightened hospitalizations that seemed bent on robbing her of all dignity as the means to a purely mechanical process of weight restoration. Without excusing the cruelty and destructiveness of those treatment programs, Sargent’s description of her descent into the hell of anorexia makes it clear that the worst abuse she suffered came from the torment of the eating disorder itself, that the toughest struggle was not against the medical system but against the suffocating embrace of the python anorexia. I found myself regretting not having been at the meeting just before her college graduation where, finally gaining freedom from the negativity and shame of her past, she proclaims, “Just remember that you have the ability to achieve anything you set your mind to.”
Like a well-rounded, nutritious meal, Sargent supplements her personal account with tender poems written by her sister, a message from her mother, and an appendix stocked with astute practical advice on dealing with eating disorders. She dreams of directing profits from the sale of this book toward the founding of an eating disorder treatment center. If I had the means, I would put this book in every high school and college library, as much to aid her quest as to make her wisdom as broadly accessible as possible.
Wrinkles Of The Heart
By Mary Fleming Callaghan
REVIEW: She understood how I felt . . ., October 2, 2000
By A Customer Keith from Tucson
We found Mary Callaghan’s book, Wrinkles on the Heart, and we ordered it immediately. We didn’t expect much since most every book we read on this subject found parents an easy, vulnerable target. I was pleasantly surprised. Wrinkles was a refreshing departure from the many academic volumes and their unfair conclusions. The Callaghans had walked the same road as we were now on, and Mary was able to put those agonizing struggles into words.
After reading Wrinkles I was struck by a surprising reality. The suggestions Mary makes in her narrative could also be applied to other cases of aberrant teenage behavior, situations that had nothing whatsoever to do with an eating disorder. That perception alone encouraged me to write this review.
I could relate to George’s frustration with Kathleen. My daughter’s stubborn refusal to listen to reason drove me crazy, just as it had for George. My wife seemed able to handle the stress better than I simply because she could talk to her friends about it, whereas I found that difficult to do. This caused disagreements and tension between us, just as it had for the Callaghans.
Mary addressed these kinds of issues in her book which made me feel that she understood how I was feeling. She and George didn’t agree but they both cared for and agonized over Kathleen’s welfare. Their approaches were diametrically opposed, but they were as one in their love for her. This was so close to our own scenario that it was almost eerie.
Thank you, Mary. You helped us see that we were not so strange after all, that we were just like thousands of other parents looking for solutions to an alarming and life-threatening problem before it was too late.
I whole-heartedly recommend Wrinkles on the Heart to all parents and families who are faced with similar life and death struggles, no matter what the source of those struggles might be.
Conversations With Anorexics
By Hilde Bruch
REVIEW: A must read, August 30, 2009
By Leslie Aria “Biofeedback-Center.com” (Sacramento, CA)
A must read for beginners or experienced clinicians. A variety of common and unique cases presented but it is the manner that Hilde approaches the patient and family members that many clinicians could learn from. It resonates Karen Horney’s tenets and Ira Sacker’s clinical perspectives. Worth your time and money.
Bitter Ice
By Barbara K. Lawrence
REVIEW: A courageous story – riveting, disturbing, important, November 19, 1999
By A Customer
Bitter Ice is compelling for those of us who have wondered to the point of agonizing about why smart and successful women stay in relationships destructive to themselves and their children. Barbara Lawrence details the evolution of the individuals in this particular relationship and the dynamics of the relationship itself. Her chronicle reminds me of a Stephen King horror story where pretty normal people and situations begin, almost imperceptively, to go awry. By the time things have become completely warped and unacceptable to the observer, the participants themselves have bought into their lives through a combination of denial, rationalization and self doubt and are living in a way they think of as “normal”. Coming from a family with an alcoholic parent, I think it is courageous and important that the author shed light for all of us by sharing very personal information. All of us in situations similar to hers learn first and foremost to keep secrets. And keeping those secrets ultimately leads to our own emotional destruction. This story is sad and tragic for the author’s whole family including the father. To me, the saddest part was when the author looked at photographs of her absent children and asked herself why she has photographs of those she loves instead of having them. As children, our inclination is to blame our parents for what is wrong in our lives. This book has helped me to better understand them, and in the case of the living, have hope for them. And ultimately, to forgive them. Only then can we begin to build healthy and happy lives for ourselves instead of becoming casualties of our upbringing. For this family, I hope that through telling the secrets and all that implies, they can each finally find personal happiness and a better life.
Children and Teens Afraid to Eat: Helping Youth in Today’s Weight-Obsessed World
By Frances M. Berg
REVIEW: A cultural commentary with practical advice, April 5, 2000
By Sue Gilbert (South Burlington, Vermont)
To be overweight is to fail” . It sums up our society’s attitude towards eating and body size today. This is a quote from ‘AFRAID TO EAT: Children and Teens in Weight Crisis’ by Frances M. Berg. While the book is a cultural commentary, it is also filled with practical advice on ways to prevent eating disorders, obesity, and dysfunctional eating….
There is useful information in this book not only for a parent, but also for teachers and health care workers. Perhaps after reading it you can share it with your school nurse or phys ed teacher. I am sure you will find its approach not only informative but practical and useful. The word ‘vitality’ is used a lot in this book as it helps us focus eating away from dieting and size/shape obsession towards eating that promotes a healthy and ‘vital’ lifestyle.
I work as a professional nutritionist and see firsthand the consequences of the fear of eating. This book takes a big stab at addressing the revolutionary changes that need to be made in our personal and societal approaches towards eating. I recommend it to any who want to join in that revolution, or simply wish to help their own kids enjoy nutritious, guilt free eating for life.
Feeding Christine
By Barbara Chepaitis
REVIEW: A Taste of Life, July 11, 2000
By Katherine Maus (Middleburgh, NY USA)
In her most recent book, “Feeding Christine”, Chepaitis stirs together a tasty concoction of flavorful characters. With Christine as the “stock” of the novel, each character shows their true flavor (or maybe I should say: “true self”). Ms. Chepaitis takes time to stir and simmer her characters together like an Italian grandmother with her sauce. The novel presents the reader with a bowlful of relationships: with others, with ourselves, with our souls, and even with food. I’m sure the reader will come away satisfied, but still wanting more.
The Food-Mood-Body Connection: Nutrition-Based Approaches to Mental Health
By Gary Null
Practical Advice On An Important Subject, October 29, 2000
By A Customer
Too often, health problems are treated with magic pills, and this is especially true of mental health problems. Now here is a book that pays proper attention to both the causes of much mental illness and helpful things people can do in place of or in addition to drugs to improve their mood and mental health. The authors are a nutritionist, Gary Null, and a respected writer, Louise Bernikow. I was really surprised by the some of the information here-and troubled that I hadn’t heard about it already. For example, it turns out the drugs that are used to treat kids diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit) disorders are associated with risk of violent or suicidal behavior, and that the diagnosis itself is very blurry. So kids are being treated with dangerous drugs for a condition they often don’t even have! And there are alternatives, nontoxic nutritional approaches, that usually aren’t even considered. As usual, a big part of the problem is that doctors aren’t adequately informed about exciting nutritional approaches, and doctors can only employ treatments they know how to prescribe, so it’s a bit of a catch 22-with patients the worse off. But this book can help. I hope people read it, and, especially, that doctors and other mental health practitioners read it.
The Athletic Woman’s Survival Guide: How to Win the Battle Against Eating Disorders, Amenorrhea, and Osteoporosis
By Carol L. Otis, Roger Goldingay
REVIEW: Covers a gamut of issues concerning women athletes, February 16, 2001
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
The Athletic Woman’s Survival Guide covers a gamut of issues concerning women athletes including eating disorders, amenorrhea, osteoporosis, body image. One of the most important chapters is on getting and giving help, forming a support team, getting referrals, the journey to recovery while continuing training, and communicating effectively with family, friends, teammates, and coaches. The Athletic Woman’s Survival Guide concludes with an excellent chapter on “Peak Performance: Preventing the Triad” and sites specifically what the woman athlete can do, what her friends can do, what her family can do, what schools and organizations can do, what their men can do, and what coaches and athletic departments can do to assist the woman athlete to thrive, prosper, and perform in the competitive world of athletic competition. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and athletic department reference libraries, The Athletic Woman’s Survival Guide is enhanced with references, resource lists, and a comprehensive index.
Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say About Dieting
By Mimi Nichter
REVIEW:An accessible book on an important topic., May 22, 2000
By ktlib “ktlib” (Easton, PA USA)
This well written book is the perfect follow up for those who want to know more about what adolescent girls really think about their bodies. An important work for parents, educators and anyone close to a teen. Also recommended: Mary Pipher’s _Reviving Ophelia_. And the best thing of all? TALK to the girls in your life, and improve your own self-image.
Starving Hearts
By Lynn Ruth Miller, Janis Alger (Editor)
REVIEW: Heart-Rending Story!, November 16, 2000
By Gilda Tabarez (San Francisco, CA USA)
This is the compelling story of a sensitive, intelligent young woman who has to endure the extended emotional pain of an overly critical and detached mother and then a loveless marriage. This book helped me to better understand how family, interpersonal, and cultural pressures can lead to eating disorders. The reasons for anorexia and bulimia are extremely complex and this book explores them in an entertaining way. It has all the elements of a good novel, including humor, pathos, passion and danger. I am greatly impressed by the courage, honesty, and wonderful talent of the author, Lynn Ruth Miller, who based the characters and events on her own true life experience. I have been recommending “Starving Hearts” to my family and friends….
Bulimia/Anorexia: The Binge Purge Cycle and Self-Starvation
By Marlene Boskind-White, William C. White
AMAZON PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Here is a basic source of information on the dynamics of eating disorders, written by two therapists who pioneered in treating them. This accessible and empowering book now adds four new chapters: “Anorexia Nervosa: Sociocultural Perspectives,” “Intensive Psychotherapy with Anorexics,” “Surviving Managed Care” (addressed especially to therapists), and “Our Daughters, Ourselves.” The book includes stories of bulimic and anorexic women in their own words-sympathetic peer-group voices to encourage women who have begun treatment or are considering it. The author also describes new school and college programs designed to help students who have eating disorders. Marlene Boskind-White draws on twenty-five years of clinical experience to set forth what actually works to combat and overcome bulimia and anorexia, focusing on ways to strengthen positive attitudes and develop practical coping skills. She evaluates new therapies and new medications such as Prozac and presents essential information on physiology and nutrition.
Why Can’t I Stop Eating? : Recognizing, Understanding, and Overcoming Food Addiction
By Debbie Danowski, Pedro, Md. Lazaro
REVIEW: Are you addicted to food? January 16, 2009
By Rebecca Johnson “SeasonedwithLove.com” (Washington State)
Debbie Danowski struggled with a food addiction for years. She then discovered how to break free from her addiction by following a diet plan that worked for her. This book is as much a manual for food addicts as it is Debbie Danowski’s story of success. The program in this book is a natural alternative to dangerous diets.
This book has interesting facts, like how caffeine is an appetite stimulant. Why then is this used in “diet” pills? Did you know one chocolate bar has as much sugar as a dozen apples? Information like this helps you to look at foods in new ways. There is a discussion about diet pills and their scary side effects. There is also a section on how to read food labels. Did you know you could be addicted to sugar and that sugar is in most prepackaged foods? Once you start reading labels you will be surprised….
The end of the book focuses on self-esteem, dealing with holiday feats, setting boundaries, saying no and finding a counselor if you have trouble sticking with the diet. A short section on the importance of exercise is also included.
This book will be helpful to anyone who binges, can’t say no to a second helping and who is concerned about their weight.
Making Weight: Healing Men’s Conflicts with Food, Weight, and Shape
By Arnold, Md. Andersen, Leigh Cohn, Tom, Md. Holbrook, Thomas M. Holbrook, Tom Holbrook
REVIEW: Review by Joel Yager, M.D., May 21, 2002
By Joel Yager (ALBUQUERQUE, NM USA)
You’d never suspect from looking at the cover articles of men’s fitness magazines at your local newsstands, but until now men had cause to feel neglected by the body dissatisfaction mavens of the academic community. In contrast to the scores of books written about women’s issues about their bodies, eating disorders, and related topics, the literature addressed to males has been thin indeed. Men with eating disorders can now feel cared about too.
Dr. Tom Holbrook’s account of his own struggle with anorexia nervosa is a highlight of the book. This remarkably candid, self-revelatory story of an astute psychiatrist whose struggles permeated his medical and psychiatric training and subsequent practice is probably matchless in the annals of wounded healers.
The last sections concern recovery, dealing with topics from basic nutritional information designed to foster realistic dietary and meal planning for gaining (or losing) weight, to psychological, social and spiritual aspects of recovery.
Eating in the Light of the Moon : How Women Can Transform Their
Relationship With Food Through Myth, Metaphor, and Storytelling
By Anita A. Johnston
REVIEW: This book lifted my spirits when I needed it most, July 9, 2001
By Stephanie Smith “a98hoya” (New York, NY USA)
I feel compelled to share with potential readers of Anita Johnston’s EATING IN THE LIGHT OF THE MOON how much this book has helped me on my recovery from bulimia. As a woman with an eating disorder, let me assure that the path to recovery is a long difficult journey, but when things get tough, to this day, I turn to this book.
The concept is different than anything I have read to date, and I have read a lot. I love analysis, thought and literature. Johnston, who, by the way, runs an acclaimed eating disorder clinic in Hawaii uses multicultural fairy tales and myths to illustrate to the reader important steps on the journey to recovery. The story I return to again and again is that of the Tutu bird….
If your mind is a literary one – if you are a person who finds deep meaning in stories/books – then PLEASE purchase this book. It has instrumental in my recovery and I really want to thank Ms. Johnston for that. I hope EATING IN THE LIGHT OF THE MOON will speak to you as it has to me.
Coping Strategies Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa
By David L. Tobin
REVIEW: An integrative approach for the treatment of BN, May 20, 2001
By Ata Ghaderi (Uppsala, Sweden)
In coping strategies therapy (CST) for bulimia nervosa, the author brings together a range of models and theoretical assumptions (transtheoretical model, dose-effect theory and coping theory) that result in an interesting framework with the ambition of integrating these different strategies and approaches into a broad and effective treatment. The empirical evidence for these models and theories, as well as their application to BN is described in chapter one….Nevertheless, the present book makes a significant contribution by showing the possibility of integrating several empirical models from both a theoretical, empirical and pragmatic point of view. It is a thought-provoking work that gives rise to many interesting hypotheses and hopefully some empirical research. I would like to recommend this book to all clinicians and researchers working with patients with eating disorders.
Bodily Discourses: When Students Write About Abuse and Eating Disorders
By Michelle Payne
AMAZON PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Bodily Discourses is about how we interpret and respond to essays about bodily violence and the questions these responses raise about composition theory.
Eating Disorders: Anatomy of a Social Epidemic
By Richard A. Gordon
REVIEW: Compassionate Insight into Modern Women, June 28, 2000
By Therese H. Sissons (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
If you read only one book to understand eating disorders, make it this one. One might almost say that if you read only one book to understand women in today’s culture, read this one. It is a wonderful book, written with an insight and compassion for women in the modern world that is simply outstanding. You do not need to suffer from an eating disorder to make reading it worthwhile. If you or anyone you know has ever eaten the whole bag of cookies, the entire box of ice cream, the whole cake in one go, and wondered why, read this book. If you or anyone you know is chronically on a diet or worried about being fat, read this book. If you or anyone you love is simply a women in today’s world trying to balance a career, marriage and children, it is worth reading this book I personally watched eating disorders proliferate according to the authors predicted pattern in Spain….. I can say the professionally critical things about this book – it is well-organized, clearly written, well-researched, and certainly very timely. But I am sure the authors wife and family, along with his clinical experience, must contribute to the compassionate understanding of individuals suffering from eating disorders, which complements the drier bones of research throughout this work.
Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self
By Lori Gottlieb
REVIEW: A MUST-READ for parents of young girls!, June 16, 2000
By Meg Brunner
A startling look at the progression from complete body-innocence to complete body-consciousness. This book is comprised of Lori’s diaries from when she was about 11 years old. When it starts out, she’s a pretty normal kid: goofing around, worrying about being liked, and just, basically, being 11. However, Lori was surrounded by women who were constantly telling her they were fat or she was fat or they/she would BECOME fat if they did this or that. As the result of this constant brainwashing (really, that’s what it is, you guys), she slowly begins to think real women just don’t eat. So, she quits eating too…..
Because, in fact, her parents are the ones who really turned Lori into the anorexic she became and they didn’t even realize they were doing it. Her mother is not only a terrible influence on Lori’s eating habits (Lori picked up a lot of her behaviors FROM her mother), but she’s also self-centered and childish. She doesn’t give a damn about her daughter — she’s just concerned that having a skeletal child will reflect poorly on her. I wanted to smack her. And her father, though obviously caring, didn’t put two-and-two together and tell her the obvious — YOU ARE THIN and YOUR MOTHER IS JUST CRAZY, IGNORE HER.
I went on my first diet in the third grade and it took me about 20 years to realize I look great the way I am. People, we have GOT to do better than that. I wish all parents of little girls would read this book….Read this book!
Stop Out-of-Control Eating: The Big Heart Way to Create Strength Through Inner Peace
By Karen Anne Bentlay
REVIEW: An holistic, meaningful, easy, do-it-yourself approach., May 4, 2000
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
In Stop Out-Of-Control Eating, Karen Bentley provides a five-step daily program for weight loss and permanent weight management based on the spiritually-enriching “Big Heart Way” which teaches love of self and others, inner peace, and guidance from within. Stop Out-Of-Control Eating is unlike any other weight reduction “how to” book with its highly recommended and effective emphasis an holistic, meaningful, inspiring, uplifting, easy, hopeful, workable, do-it-yourself approach.
But I’m Not a Bad Person
By Lauren M. Traer
REVIEW: Author shares experience and hope., July 30, 2001
By La Vella Kraft (Verona, KY United States)
Because eating disorders are often part of a very secretive lifestyle, many of us are clueless to the reality of the struggles involved in dealing with the disease. Most of us know someone, perhaps someone we love, and have not truly understood. This book is a detailed transcript often so troubling to read that I put it down only to absorb what I read and then so captivated by Lauren’s struggle I had to continue. Although difficult for her to do, it is obvious she was inspired by her relationship with the Lord to write this account of her illness. I applaud her courage and obedience and thank her for giving us the information she shared to help us help the victims of this tragedy in our paths. It is a book I have already passed on and recommended to several people. One young lady found hope in her struggle. That’s what it’s all about. God uses us in our weakness and even our illness to bring others to Him. This book is honestly written and a true account of the need for a relationship with Jesus Christ. I highly recommend it.
Eating Disorders: A Guide to Medical Care and Complications
By Arnold E. Andersen (Editor), Philip S. Mehler (Editor)
REVIEW: A short well written book on Medical Aspects of Eating Disorders, March 31, 2006
By Sophia Bezirganian “Bibliosophy” (NY United States)
This book is a gem. It is clearly written and well edited. In spite of its brevity (perhaps because of it!)it manages to pack into a neat and organized package most of the key clinical info that I need to fulfill my role as Medical Director of a Partial Hospital for E.D.s. This book helped me remember and retain (and have quickly available for cases), all the basic Medicine knowledge that is pertinent to my role; knowledge that I needed to be a Physician in the broad and well-rounded way that is necessary when treating women who are not only psychiatrically challenging, but who are often quite sick due to medical complications of their disorder. Beautifully done, and a pleasure to read as well!