Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Rating:
Summary: Probably an accurate description of the life of an anoretic
Review: My sister, who is now in her 40s, struggled with anorexia for about 15 years. Like Marya, at some point, she just got better. She attributes a "cave man" diet for her recovery, but like Marya, I wonder if she just kind of grew out of it. Back then, no one really knew how to treat anorexia, and the blame was pretty much placed on the family situation. I wish that this book had been written back then,as I see so much of what Marya was doing in my sister's habits - like mixing all of the food in the house together and eating it and binging. I might have understood her a little better. This is a riveting account of what I can vouch for, second hand, at least,is a very accurate account of anorexic/bulimic behavior.

Rating:
Summary: will leave it's mark on your soul
Review: As an ED survivor this book reached in, and seared my soul. A must read for anyone with an ED or close to someone with an ED! A must read for anyone who is looking to be moved at the very base of their being. Buy this book you will not be dissapointed. I can not say enough good about this book.

Rating:
Summary: astounding to say the least....
Review: If only I could have said what Marya said in such a stunning way...It's sad really that I find so much of myself in Marya's words but have never been able to express them for myself...At one time I was Marya in subtle ways...just replase her ipecac with windex...the thin stick figure with someone who will always be flesh...the book moved me into new dimensions...I will never be able to fully grasp the extent of Marya's words but I will continue to relate with her experience...WASTED is a wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: addicted to starving
Review: The first time I read this book, it was in a desperate attempt for "diet aids", which sent me in a careening spiral deeper into my eating disorder. The last two times I've read it, it has been with shock and sadness as I recognized myself in every one of Marya's words. She is an incredible writer with an incredible story to tell. Yes, it is a triggering story, but that is no reason to deny anyone acess to it. Only please make sure that whoever you give it to is strong enough to handle it.

Rating:
Summary: Brutally honest, well written & VERY triggering!
Review: This book could be the story of my life, or anyone with an eating disorder's life for that matter! One warning: It is VERY, VERY triggering. If you are buying this book for someone in reovery, I don't suggest it. Everytime I read from this book I start restricting. It's like a diet aid!

Rating:
Summary: disgusted with this memoir
Review: Yes, you tell it like it is Marya. But you tell it too well. What you have written is a how to book for anorexia. ANy thirteen year old can pick up this book and know the ins and outs of being anorexic and all the little tricks you pull to fool doctors along the way. How do I know this? becuase I am an anorexic and this book triggered the hell out of me. It didn't inspire me to get better, it made me jeoulous of your so boldly advertising your lowest weights. How could you not think that that would not automatically set off triggers in anorexics minds? Your book I know was banned from teh ED hospital I went to just for that reason. what a thing to be proud of.

Rating:
Summary: Marya Withholds Nothing
Review: I could not put this book down. Marya takes us through her dark journey down the path of eating disorders, and holds back nothing. This is truly a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled with an eating disorder; be aware that it could also be triggering to those with eating disorders because it is so graphic.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best personal account.....
Review: of the experience of living through the horrors of an eating disorder that I have ever read. I could not put this book down. Ms. Hornbacher's intricate and lively telling of what is nothing short of personal hell is honest, raw and ultra-realistic. I have lived through these struggles myself, and other than in my own head or journal, I've never seen such a brilliantly eloquent if painful rendition of the reality of an eating disorder. This is an absolute must read for anyone struggling, or loved ones of a struggling person afflicted with anorexia or bulimia.

Rating:
Summary: Truthful & Honest
Review: Marya Hornbacher's book made me want to meet her; to ask her how she's doing today, what she's up to, etc. She speaks in such an honest way, I feel as though I have met her before. Her honesty is refreshing and interesting, if not at times disturbing. If I see a friend, even an acquaintance, struggling with an eating disorder, I will give them this book. Ms. Hornbacher describes everything in so much detail, it would cause many to think twice about damage they are imposing on their body. The author is wise beyond her years.

Rating:
Summary: Grace
Review: I went into a bookstore to browse, picked this book up, and bought it when I realized that I had read over half standing in the stacks. Ms. Hornbacher neither whines nor preaches. Nor does she pretend to be well. Wasted is filled with information; the author has clearly studied the academic literature about her subject. But the strength of the book is her description of the wasted life, the wasted heart, the perpetual cold and the continual self-delusion. For the first time in my life I was grateful to be thirty pounds overweight instead of thirty pounds underweight. Hornbacher is a remarkable writer; her prose beautifully paced and her voice is clean and entertaining. It is unusual to find a memoir of this sort so well-written. Horbacher is a true writer, and I look forward to her next book, whatever its subject.