Rating: 
Summary: Stunning & Brilliant
Review: I have a lot of difficulty expressing my feelings about Ms. Hornbacher's book aside from the words "stunning" and "brilliant." Reading it brought back flashes of my childhood, when I too looked in the mirror and hated what I saw; for years I tried not to eat, continually trying to prove that I was so much better than actually NEEDING FOOD. Ms. Hornbacher strips this myth totally bare and shows it for the vicious demon it really is. I re-read it periodically and each time I do, I send her a mental "thank-you" for having the courage to write it. Take her warning to heart - don't live your life like this. Every woman should read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Your health is not Hornbacher's responsibility.
Review: I've read many complaints about this book [] - that Hornbacher's book is sets a bad example and instigates eating disorders in others, that it provides dangerous how-to details, and that it's not a book for children (?). Let me tell you that I had an eating disorder for 13 years and I also found this book quite disturbing, but that's MY issue and not something I can blame on an author or the quality of her writing (to the contrary, the fact that most people are disturbed should be a testament to how well she conveys the insanity of the sickness). I don't think the author set out to do anything noble with her book - it's a MEMOIR. She doesn't claim to have fully recovered, she hasn't tried to write a thoughtful treatment on anorexia written to replace therapy, and she's not saying her experiences are shared by everyone. This is the story of her life and includes all the harrowing, grisly, selfish details. If you have an eating disorder yourself, don't blame Hornbacher for "triggering" destructive behavior in you - stay away from these kinds of books until you're strong enough to deal with them. Keeping you healthy is not her responsibility. As for the author being a narcissist, isn't anyone who writes a personal memoir a little self-absorbed? She seems pretentious and egotistical, and not like someone I'd enjoy hanging out with. But what's that got to do with her writing? You may have found her story repetitive, lacking a critical eye, or disappointing from a literary perspective, but don't criticize it for setting a bad example or for telling a story that you, as a bulimic or anoretic, don't agree with. It's HER story, nothing else. Good grief.
Rating:
Summary: powerful
Review: This book was stunning. I completely disagree with some of the other reviewers who throught it was a how-to manual. The point, in my opinion, was to elucidate and drive home this excruciating and highly secret behavior for those of us who haven't been exposed to the despair of bulimirexia. If it opens the eyes of parents who have been telling their children to watch their weight to a potential outcome of their own behavior, so much the better. If one parent decides to reevaluate their groceries, their plumbing, or their frantically excersizing child, that would be a good thing. If therapists can learn from Marya's manipulative behavior and better assess and treat their own clients, there is benefit for everyone. I appreciated the opportunity to experience this book. I suspect it was a difficult and humiliating process to write.
Rating: 
Summary: If you dont know what good writing is, read this.
Review: I'm appalled at the number of people who responded by describing Marya as a talented and eloquent writer. I find it hard to believe that someone who claimed to read Italo Calvino at age five, could write so terribly. There is absolutely no art or skill in this masturbatory book. And people who responded with such enthusiasm have no sense of taste. Marya's fans are probably also flaky women who would describe Girl, Interrupted as an excellent "film." sorry for the brutal honesty, im just so frustrated by this book. i just think that marya, who claims to be so intellegent was not responsible with her writing. even as an expression of herself, an artist must also be conscious of her audience. it is not merely a tool of expression, but a tool of COMMUNICATION and she disregards her readers, especially her fellow-anorexic readers and i find that absolutely disgusting, being a recovering anorexic and having spent time in a mental institution for other mental illnesses. be cautious with this book. its absolutely awful.
Rating:
Summary: A dangerous book for those with eating disorder features
Review: Being a psychiatric nurse in an eating disorder unit, I have seen many of patients use this as a "how to" book. It offers very detailed explanations on how to decieve others, restrict/fast, and purge. The message of the book is supposed to be positive against eating disorders, however, it is not used this way. WARNING TO PARENTS: DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD READ THIS BOOK IF THEY HAVE ISSUES WITH WEIGHT OR BODY IMAGE.
Rating:
Summary: a good book to bring enlightment
Review: 14 March 2003
Wasted is a story about a young girl (Marya Hornbacher) and her seemingly life-long struggle with annorexia and bulimia. Throughout this autobiography Marya gives strong detail about the drugs, drinking, and hospitalization periods she went through while going through the struggles and fighting with her parents. Marya never went to a public high school, but she attended a boarding school, also known as "the hotbed," for people with eating disorders. But for Marya, it did not start there. When Marya was only nine years old she thought of herself as worthless and fat. That's when bulimia beacame a dark reality in her life, and it was just the beginning of the end.
I recommend this book to people struggling with the need to know the reality of the path they may someday choose to walk. This is a great book, and Marya has a meaningful story that people should be aware of.
Rating:
Summary: It's not a book it's a handbook
Review: I am a Milieu Therapist in day program for individuals with eating disorders and this book is nothing more than a handbook. I appreciate the authors honesty with dealing with her eating disorder but there is something said for being subtle.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: i haven't read any book that was able to put the actual feelings of an eating disordered individual into words. i have read this book three times and continuing, a highly reccomemnded book. anyone and everyone should read it, those with and eating disorder, those who know of someone suffering, or just for a great read! it's about ten stars to me!
Rating:
Summary: American Dream is not the answer
Review: Oh please please please do not look to the American dream for the source of eating disorders. While media representations in support of the so-called "American Dream" of skinny girls and muscled boys may encourage or provide support, eating disorders and other disorders of lonliness are symptomatic of much deeper issues than "I want to look like that." No one starved him or herself over a magazine cover alone. I beg anyone practicing this faulty thinking to reconsider.
Rating:
Summary: Dangerous Book
Review: As a recovered anorexic I found this book very disturbing. The books serves as a "How To" guide on eating disorders. Anyone with an eating disorders knows that there are certain "Tricks of the trade" which are very dangerous. This book spells out each of the tricks Marya used while in treatment!! This book is very dnagerous for anyone with an eating disorder. Please, I beg you, do NOT let a loved one with an eating disorder read this!
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