In a world riddled with madefortv, paintbynumbers eating disorder cliche, wintergirls by laurie halse anderson separates itself from the pack. While wintergirls doesnt glamorize eating disorders, laurie halse anderson paints a clear picture of the attention lia receives and the heady feelings of power she experiences because of her anorexia. Here some of the best options for books about eating disorders out there. Photos of railthin celebrities like lindsay lohan and the olsen sisters serve as. Wintergirls is a fiction novel by laurie halse anderson. Lia is the caucasian, teenaged daughter of divorced parents. The troubling allure of eatingdisorder books the new. Eating disorder hope offers free information on body image, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders. But then cassie suffers the ultimate loss her life and lia is left behind, haunted by her friends memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her. Becky lu jackson emerged from many years of suffering with an eating disorder, diet pills, and alcohol abuse in the 1970s. Laurie halse anderson quotes about eating disorders az. Through the power of story, someone may recognize that something is wrong in their own life or in the lives of one of their friends, and this can lead someone to seek help.
Laurie halse andersons wintergirls is exactly that kind of book. I first read wintergirls when i turned eighteen on the cusp of my illness. Last year, annabel was the girl who has everythingat least thats the part she played in. Anderson has written some amazing books about mental.
However, eating disorders arent a glamorous topic that authors want to fictionalize. Eating disorders, psychological disorders, books barnes. Halse andersons writing style is absolutely intriguing and poetic. Lia and cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. Wintergirls by laurie halse anderson made my eating. Now cassie is dead and lia has thirtythree unanswered calls on her phone, thirtythree messages from her exbest friend, all sent the day she died. Wintergirls by laurie halse anderson, leaving the beach. As the book opens, lia is reeling from the loss of her estranged bestie, cassie. Months after a fall out with her best friend cassie, lia. How books on anorexia can inadvertently become howto books for teens. Emotionally gutwrenching yet beautiful, wintergirls is about a girl named lia who has an eating disorder and is also trying to recover from the death of her best friend cassie, who died as a result of her own eating disorder. Theres somewhat of a cult genre with mental illness in books, and if like me you naturally gravitate towards them, wintergirls is definitely one to add to the bookshelf.
Wintergirls laurie halse anderson young adult fiction. A familys struggle with anorexia by harriet brown, wasted. This book is a about a girl with an eating disorder, and how she struggles to fight the disorder. This article discusses eating disorders and disordered eating habits. The troubling allure of eatingdisorder books the new york times.
I do not recommend this for people with similar disorders. You have a disorder first and then things can trigger you. She shows what its really like to have an eating disorder and to feel your life is out of control and is unafraid of the gory details, but she. Dan 11420 the first book i read by laurie halse anderson was speak, which was excellent. Anderson has written some amazing books about mental illness. Recovery resources, self help tools, and treatment centers eating disorder hope.
Wintergirls by laurie halse anderson lia and cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. Tweens and teens who think they know someone with an eating disorder may feel like they are caught between needing to help and protecting the friendship. Find books about eating disorder recovery and treatment. She also describes the various procedures lia and cassie use to purge, limit their calorie intake and hide their disorder. Wintergirls is a very real, very accurate look at the damage eating disorders cause and what sort of mental jumps people make in order to justify their disorder. If youre in munster, i cannot recommend the eating disorder centre cork highly enough. Photos of rail thin celebrities like lindsay lohan and the olsen sisters serve as. Parents need to know this is a very, very intense book about the mental and physical pain endured by teens with eating disorders. The new young adult novel wintergirls by laurie halse anderson. Lia and cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick. See more ideas about words, positivity and anorexia recovery. Reading books about eating disorders even can help save lives by showing what the symptoms and behaviors look like.
The new york times bestselling story of a friendship frozen between life and death lia and cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. Wintergirls is deep and disturbing, but at the same time it is very real. This is the first one that actually inspired me to recover instead of driving me further into my disorder. The book incapsulates the true hell that eating disorders evoke in the lives of those who suffer from them as well as their loved ones.
Talking with tweens and teens about eating disorders a. Laurie halse anderson quotes about eating disorders quotes about. The 8 best books to read about eating disorders spoon university. For people who like books such as reasons why by jay asher or all the. These pieces of media cover people dealing with the most fatal mental illnesses there are. Having struggled with an eating disorder as a teenager, i can attest that this. A novel of obsession and music by mary rowen, wasted. If you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder, please contact neda 800 9312237 it is estimated that eight to ten million americans have an eating disorder. Wintergirls is a powerful but intimate story of one girls chilling descent into the allconsuming vortex of anorexia lia and cassie were best friends.
Which ya books about eating disorders should you read. A trick of the light by lois metzger telling a story of a rarely recognized segment of eating disorder sufferersyoung men a trick of the light by lois metzger is a book for fans of the complex characters and emotional truths in laurie halse andersons wintergirls and jay ashers thirteen reasons why. And now in an eatingdisorder treatment center on the dusty outskirts of the new mexico desert. She then founded two recovery homes and an educational center for women with eating disorders, has written three books on eating addiction and treated over. Teen books about eating disorders just listen by sarah dessen. Anyone else really fucking loathe books like wintergirls. I never developed a clinical eating disorder, but for decades i had a very confused image of myself, and i put way too much emphasis on how i looked.
Wintergirls is an amazing book already recommended in this thread, but another good one is perfect by ellen hopkins. The two main characters, the wintergirls of the title, both have emotional problems that lead to and exacerbate their disorders. The distorted reality of eating disorder books the offing. A ya reading list for viewers of to the bone stacked books. Wintergirls by laurie halse anderson, brave girl eating. Its also written in free verse, if that interests you. But then cassie suffers the ultimate lossher lifeand lia is left behind, haunted by. I remember the selfhatred and the terrible thoughts. She struggles to fight her mental illness while balancing everything else in her life. If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller. Eating disorder books tell us what an eating disorder looks like, not. The book is writen in 1st person, so it is from the main characters point of view. See more ideas about words, quotes and book quotes.
Talking with tweens and teens about eating disorders. Laurie halse anderson renders a fierce and unrelenting portrait of a young womans struggle with a lifethreatening eating disorder. I recently read the novel wintergirls by laurie halse anderson and rewatched the movie to the bone on netflix, and i havent been able to stop thinking about either one since. She shows what its really like to have an eating disorder and to feel your life is out of control and is unafraid of the gory details, but she still. I have read countless books about eating disorders. In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the national book award finalist speak, bestselling author laurie halse anderson explores one girls chilling descent into the allconsuming vortex of anorexia. Up to 20 books are listed, in descending order of popularity. The wintergirls book is a book that keeps your reading.
The statistics regarding eating disorders are staggering. Its estimated that as many as 10% of young women in some populations suffer from an eating disorder, and far more exhibit what are called disordered eating behaviors, though. There are no resources in the back of the book no websites, no further reading lists. Should authors be supplying readers with starvation tips and new various ways to give in to their disorder. It tells the story of a girl, lia overbrook, who suffers from anorexia and self harm. Ninety percent of those who have eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25, but they can also manifest in teenage boys, and adult men and women of all ages. I have read other books written by her, and i am truly a great fan. The book explores lias descent into the vortex of anorexia as she struggles to cope with the death of her. Lias relationship with her body and with her family are conveyed with intensity and realism, told through lias. These books about eating disorders are raw, realistic and simply incredible. The books below take on eating disorders, treatment and recovery.
This was recommended to me several months ago as part of a book club but for some reason i just didnt get around to reading it. Wintergirls by laurie halse anderson, just listen by sarah dessen, perfect by natasha friend, identical by. Books like life without ed, wintergirls, and good girls do swallow are helpful if you want some insight. I say this because wintergirls is not a selfhelp book. Writing wintergirls was one of the hardest things ive ever done, but it was one of the healthiest, too. Its not about eating disorders but its about weight loss which, lets be honest, as hard as it is to find a book about a male mc with an eating disorder its equally as hard to find a book about a male mc who experiences fatphobia. Eighteenyearold lia comes to terms with her best friends death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder. Books about anorexia nervosa what should i read next. Lia, age eighteen, is dying to become a wintergirl.
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