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Summary: I have been made aware of what ED's do to a family.....
Review: I know, at first i thought it just revolved around myself, but after reading this book, i now know what my parents have been telling me this whole time. I would love to hear from you, Marya, but good luck on your degree!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money on "Wasted"
Review: I heard this book was supposed to be excellent, and I purchased it as soon as the paperback edition came out. Frankly, I found myself disappointed with the quality of the work and bored at times. I thought "Wasted" was going to be a real page turner, but there were times I just stopped reading because it was redundant, tedious, and repetitive. Maybe I couldn't relate because I've never had an eating disorder, but this book just didn't do anything for me. I'm glad I waited for the paperback edition and paid $13.00, as opposed to the $23.00 for the hardcover. If you want to read a compelling memoir of a mental illness, stick with Elizabeth Wurtzel's "Prozac Nation". Hornbacher's literary style is pretentious and unrealistic. She failed to stir any emotion in me other than pity for writing such a poor excuse for a novel. Sorry for the bad review, but I'm giving my honest opinion. This novel didn't quite live up to my expectations.
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Summary: A most valuable gift - Thanks Marya.
Review: I am amazed at a few of the reviews that assume Marya wrote this book with the belief that she knows everything there is to know about eating disorders and how to cure one. She's only 23 years old! I've enjoyed reading this book because it IS one person's perspective. Having been through an eating disorder, I can often relate to much of what Marya writes but at the same time, I often don't - and I don't expect to. As far as this book not being exciting enough, life is what it is. It's not meant to be bait for a potential Hollywood blockbuster action-packed thriller. I had my eating disorder for 10 years and I began recovery roughly 12 years ago. I still have concerns about weight and have successfully maintained my weight, albeit just slightly under what would be considered normal for someone of my build. I don't know if the desire to remain thin will ever completely go away for me, but I maintain my weight in a much healthier way now and I no longer think I look fat. Fortunately, I never diet and food is no longer an obsession with me. In fact - and I never thought I'd say this or actually believe this back when I was sick - eating is not a priority for me and has truly become a means of survival. I believe this finally came about after years of therapy, both group and indivdual as well as my own self discovery. I think I finally just got sick of being sick. I'm still reading this book and do not have ANY expectations as to how I believe it should progress or if her recovery is being conducted in the most healthy manner. I'm just going with it. But I/we have no idea how things will really turn out since she is fairly new to recovery. I am 12 years recovered and every year just gets better. This book is very helpful in allowing me to dig into my past and really face many of the demons that caused my problems and may still linger today. It's actually helping me and I wasn't looking to get help going into it. Well, maybe I was. Anyway, I'm grateful for the book and I would say that only those who have been through some type of eating disorder or other addiction can truly appreciate its value. Thanks Marya. I think you'll help a lot of people out there with this one!!
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Summary: A book that should be read by everyone!
Review: "Wasted" is a very powerful and gripping book which should be read by everyone--regardless of whether or not they have an eating disorder. Marya Hornbacher really takes you into the painful world of eating disorders, and her sharp insite into our culture really shows the hell we are all putting ourselves through. She pulls no punches, and is brutally honest. I highly recommend this book!
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Summary: Wow!
Review: This book was absolutely incredible! I read it upon the recommendation of a friend when I learned that someone we knew had an eating disorder. I couldn't put it down. After reading several other books in the same genre, I can definitively say that this one is the best. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: A GRAND EPIC
Review: You know in the Afterword when Marja said that she had to be brilliant in life, remember the 'GRAND EPIC' ? I think that this is it. She made it. This book is great and I really enjoyed it - it's an ugly, ugly, haunting book but oh so addictive! She may not be able to actually change anyone who is anorexic but at least she can provide some comfort to them. It's a lonely world out there...Personally, I think that (wether it was her mania or not) Marya is a very powerful, driven person. She writes in such a cooly cynical, sick-of-it-all voice but I hear her crying out. I think that most people in our generation - whether fat or thin, eating disordered or not - can relate to this book. Life is harsh and anything you want bad (recovery in her case) is a two step forward one step back kind of thing, stumbling (for as long as 14 years even) in the 'underworld'. There is definately a message in this book. Also, she gave away a very valuable thingy at the end on how to sort of 'snap out' of anorexia. You just try it for 6 months and then you can get sick again later if you want to. That helps. I liked her quotes - Plath, Dickenson, Sexton and all (confessionalists... yeah!) . Jung and Freud too. And I like what she said about the 70's pop culture, the Barbie doll American dream and the boring (but oh so enticing and admirable) grungy/bored/stoned models. Made me laugh. (Someone should write a satire about that one day) She's great. I'm almost jealous of her. Marya, if you want to e-mail your biggest fan, my address is beryl_lim@hotmail.com. I'm 14 years old if it matters. (hope you don't suddenly think my review is crap now)
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Summary: Dear Marya,
Review: I fiqured at some point you were bound to check out some of the reviews from Amazon. I am 22 years old and also suffered (suffering) from an eating disorder(s). Obviously, my story is quite a bit different from yours (I, indeed, found my own quicksand to fall into) I have recently relapsed and I am having trouble understanding why. I am impressed that you had the courage to write a book at age 23. I was enlighting to read a book about someone who grew up in my generation- I think it was the first book I ever read by someone my age. I would really like it if you emailed me. I hop you can continue "letting go." Sandra
Rating: 
Summary: Enlightening account of an Eating Disordered mind
Review: I was recommended the book by my best friend, who herself is (was in her terms) an Anoretic. This book gives a brutally honest and often frightening account of what goes through the mind of those with eating disorders, something i can never truly understand - although i really wish i did. The story is written in such a way as to involve the reader to such an extent that you feel that you are in the room with the author watching her life unfold in a more and more disastrous manner. I feel like i've gained so much insight into my own friend, that i have so many questions for her, did she feel this, did she do that. It honestly scares me that my friend is like that and gives me all the resolve to go on with my future plan of graduating from medical school and specialising in Eating disorders. Maybe i can make a difference, but understanding is key, and this book helps give you that.
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Summary: A "straight-to-the-point" portrayal of a real recovery story
Review: Marya Hornbacher is by far the most eloquent writer who has ever published an autobiography of her struggle with an eating disorder. So many of these books are dry and poorly written, and end with the same theme: "all better". "Wasted" has a much more realistic theme. Hornbacher truly shows the reader that an eating disorder is a lifelong struggle.
Rating:
Summary: Honest and well-written
Review: Marya Hornbacher's account of her personal battle with anorexia and bulimia is a very honest look at what people with eating disorders go through. And, for anyone who has ever wanted to even experiment in bingeing, purging, or starvation, this book will let them know just exactly how unglamorous and deadly it really is.
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