Customer Reviews

Beating Ana: How to Outsmart Your Eating Disorder and Take Your Life Back

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'll start with the one aspect of this book which I found positive: it could potentially be a useful tool for a person seeking a mentoring relationship in twleve-step-based recovery. For this reason, I am giving it two stars rather than one. Considering all other facets of the book, I am surprised that it has received so many positive reviews. As other reviewers have pointed out, Beating Ana is one of the first books (maybe the very first) to point out that having a recovery mentor can make success much more likely as an eating disorder sufferer proceeds toward his/her goals for wellness. But I question the assertion that this idea is a new or unique contribution in approaches to eating disorders. For years, sufferers and professionals have applied the twelve-step significance of a sponsor to the eating disorder recovery process. Almost anyone who has been through inpatient treatment for an eating disorder can testify to the fact that recovery is smoother when one is accompanied by others who have been there. This is why support groups can be so helpful. In my opinion, that is quite obvious, and this book presents nothing new or unique on that issue. Another probelm with Beating Ana is that--like many eating disorder self-help books and memoirs--the author seems to presuppose that what worked for her will work for everyone who suffers from an eating disorder. Again and again, this book speaks to the necessity of working the twelve steps, as if there were no other model for mentoring or recovery. For those of us who are critical of the the twelve-step approach for one reason or another...and those of us who have recovered DESPITE the recovery community's inundation with the steps, this book comes across as alienating and limiting. This became even clearer to me when I applied for membership in the online community associated with this book, and I was denied membership because "the community would not be a good fit" for me. I see the potential for many people (particularly those in early recovery) to be misled by this book since it focuses so heavily on personal experience without many qualifying statements. For once, I would like to see a book on eating disorder recovery which does not so arrogantly assume that all sufferers have the same needs or will recover in the same way as the author did. I was hoping to find that in this book when I first purchased it, but unfortunately I did not.

Sarah
*Recovered from an eating disorder

This book is very triggering for those newly in recovery from anorexia. The reflective journal exercises bring up strong emotions surrounding the purpose one's eating disorder served. Making returning to self destructive coping behaviors very appealing.

This looks like a simple book but the elements contained within the pages of "Beating Ana" are a support system to aid anyone with an eating disorder to break through to into health. The author says something so profound right on the first page of part one: "Quite possibly, the only experience tougher on a human body, mind, heart, and spirit than falling ill is getting better. It gets unnecessarily tougher, however, when we assume that we will have to heal the same way we got sick--alone. We don't." In this book you will find a companion to healing.

Chapters begin with a letter to the author, Shannon Cutts, and her response. You know she understands because she's been there and healed. Next is a short piece on one of the elements for healing and the "recovery workshop" which is something the reader can really do to grow and process new feelings and thoughts. The workshop can be anything from watching a movie to making a list. Each chapter closes with a "Life Celebration Affirmation."

The author writes with the voice of a very understanding mentor, someone who gets what's going on but who also sees through all the tricks that an eating disorder can bring up so you can get through even the hardest of times. There is a wonderful focus on empowering the reader (or participant!) to experience the beauty within.

The book wraps up with guidelines for forming and being involved in a mentoring relationship. "Beating Ana" would be a great companion in a healing process. It is not about the dark side, it's about getting through the haunting darkness of eating disorders into freedom. I work with young women and this book will remain on my shelf as a wonderful resource.

In Beating Ana, Shannon Cutts shares experiences from her clients and gives readers glimpses into the lives of individuals who suffer with eating disorders. By sharing actual email exchanges with her clients she demonstrates the importance of having support for recovery. Shannon's Mentor Connect program provides the much needed support system by having individuals in recovery mentor others. By mentoring others, individuals further their own path to recovery.

This book includes numerous workshops and processes individuals can use to gain more understanding about their eating disorder and how to overcome it. These processes are based on a 12-step approach.

Beating Anna connects the reader with Shannon's loving, caring approach and offers hope an inspiration for a life beyond. Individuals need support both during and after treatment and Mentor Connect is a great way to get it!

Lori Hanson, Award-Winning Author of It Started With Pop-Tarts... An Alternative Approach to Winning the Battle of Bulimia and It Started With Pop-Tarts 2.0, The Secrets to Surviving & THRIVING in Your Teens (2009)

Helpful book to those wanting some encouragment and advice on the battles of an eating disorder. Easy to understand and read, good for any age.

As someone recovering from an eating disorder, "Beating Ana" was a valuable resource for me. Not only did it provide me with inspiration and motivation to continue on my journey, but it gave lots of great activities to keep me on the right track and in a recovery mindset. I enjoyed the book, but when I finished it did not stop having an effect on me; I became a member of the author's site called MentorCONNECT, which is another wonderful outlet for those who are dealing with this illness to find strength and hope in a community of people who are positive. Worth every penny!

Food is not something to be feared. "Beating Ana: How to Outsmart Your Eating Disorder & Take Your Life Back" is a guide to battling what many women and some men face every day due to societal pressures - a crippling fear of food and getting fat due to the eating disorder known as Anorexia Nervosa. Shannon Cutts draws upon her own experience and hopes to inspire other readers to rise up and above and to not fear food. "Beating Ana" is a top pick for those fighting this disease or know someone who is.

Beating Ana is a gift! Shannon gets to one of the core problems in eating disorders. Secrecy! This "secret" leads to shame, isolation and loneliness. Those struggling with ED feel alone and imprisoned in these vicious lies of the eating disorder. So I strongly agree with Shannon, the way of escape is through mentoring relationships.. Shannon invites us into the sacred places she has walked with her mentees. Through letters you see the real anguish of those tormented by ED. Shannon gently, but powerfully challenges their erroneous beliefs, and becomes a healthy mirror through her Life Celebration Affirmations. Shannon is able to build trust through sharing experiences of her own recovery and therefore offers real hope. Shannon gives practical, relatable "how to's" through creative journaling exercises, which become a map towards recovery. I would recommend this book to my clients.
-Colleen O'Grady-Long, MA, LPC, LMFT

Unlike any other book about eating disorders, Beating Ana uniquely illustrates the importance of people connecting with one another for support and encouragement along recovery road. I would never have recovered from my own eating disorder without the help of recovered women who held my hand along the way. Shannon's depth of passion and honesty will provide much-needed hope to all those touched by this insidious illness.

-Jenni Schaefer, Author of Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life (McGraw-Hill, September 2009) and Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too

With Beating Ana, Shannon is bringing back the lost art of mentoring. Her caring spirit is real, authentic and filled with the determination of someone who understands the journey. She believes this work found her and in part I suspect that is true...but the truth is she could only be found by "uncovering" herself.