In her extraordinary memoir, debut author Shumer mines a painful past to shine a hopeful light on the experience of eating disorders. Shumer, influenced by 1980s standards of female beauty she saw everywhere, including the pinups in her older brother’s room, always worried about her weight. At ten, triggered by an insensitive teacher who told Shumer she had elephant legs in front of the class, Shumer went full-scale into what she called “Operation Anorexia”— taking an hour to eat a carrot stick because she had to chew each bite 50 times before swallowing, and eating strawberries divided in fifths that she forced herself to chew 25 times—and taking inspiration from anorexia-themed young adult novels, notably Steven Levenkron’s The Best Little Girl in the World. Young Shumer eventually was hospitalized when she refuses to eat or drink anything with calories, dropping to nearly 40 pounds. Her journey to gaining weight during her hospital stay found her facing anxiety attacks, strict rules, and restraint devices to stop her from over-exercising. She was discharged weighing 33 pounds more than when she arrived. But after that, Shumer reports, she still struggled with the anorexic mindset, even turning to cutting as a coping mechanism. Consulting therapists, Shumer began the rocky road to recovery, which she writes about with the same frank clarity as the darkest moments, bravely laying bare her moments of backsliding—such as resorting to diet drugs when she hit 108 pounds.
WIth power and sensitivity, Shumer lays bare how anorexia gives perfectionists a sense of accomplishment that is hard to overcome, especially for someone raised in a media culture where “brains were not a high priority currency for females.” But Shumer also demonstrates that recovery from an entrenched eating disorder is possible. Shumer’s gutsy book will provide hope to those enduring one and help family and friends to understand.
Takeaway: Hopeful, eye-opening account of disordered eating and the path to recovery.
Comparable Titles: Deborah Hautzig’s Second Star to the Right, Marya Hornbacher’s Wasted.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
