Customer Reviews

Diary of an Eating Disorder: A Mother and Daughter Share Their Healing Journey

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

 

 

This is a beatiful book written REAL and exactly how it is. The author expresses feelings throughout wich really touched me. After all ,aren't these dieases about feelings rather than food. Her battle with with anorexia & bulemia is something that I know alot of people fight each day in secret. I really admire her honesty. I know this book will be left out so I can pick it up & read it during times I feel alone or like noone could understand. It's amazing to know each suffers situation is so similar. To the author....thank you so much! After reading so many books written by Dr's, etc. it's great to find a book I feel REALLY describes what one goes thru. I cried so often throughout your journal, I had to put it down off & on so it took me awhile to read it. But it felt so good, and actually helpd me in alot of ways to feel OK about my feelings.

A must-read for anyone who has ever turned self-hatred toward her or his body and for everyone who loves such a person. This book is so raw and daring, so sharp and grasping that I could feel it in my throat during the whole reading. The one word that most demands to be mentioned is "right." Both Smith and Runyon have done the entire public a tremendous service with the publication of this diary. Readers follow Smith's actual accounts during her two-year sink into bulimia and anorexia, as well as her superhuman struggle in recovery to see the incredibly sensitive and compelling woman she is. At times her eye seems almost too clear and her prose too precise to believe; how can she see the feelings inside of herself and express them verbally with such exactitude and not know how great her gift for depiction and honesty is? I read it once and immediately read it again. Smith's words act as a soothing balm for anyone struggling to free him- or herself from the bonds of self hatred. I would like to personally thank Smith for her courageous gift to us all, as well as her mother Beverly Runyon for the insight she offers loved ones in her personal interludes throughout the book. Bless the Lord for putting them both on this earth.

This diary unlocks a door for the reader which opens into the barren, desolate and lonely land of eating disorders. From the outside, Chelsea appears the epitomy of success and happiness yet within, she is struggling to live. As she travels the rollercoaster ride of bulimia and anorexia, the reader experiences with her the extreme emotions which propel her along the deadly tracks. We watch her recovery and share in that happiness with, although the struggle against a relapse is still difficult. An afterword, added in a few years time, would be much enjoyed; I hope that then this courageous young women will have found deserved peace.

Chelsea Smith's diary entries become tediously repetitive in their adolescent appeals to "God". "I'm so glad I have God", she writes. I believe that faith can help those suffering from eating disorders overcome their obstacles to recovery, but Chelsea's book didn't really delve into the emotional roots of her eating disorder. The entire book reads like a pre-teen's diary (even her entries as a young adult), full of empty platitudes. Nothing new here. I recommend instead Cindy Nappa Bitter's book, "Good Enough." It opens up all the emotional agony that provokes an eating disorder, but in such a way that anyone can relate.

Vapid, self-important, and poorly written, this book is also chock full of religious claptrap and the rationalizing of a spoiled brat. I'm happy that Chelsea recovered, but can't believe that anybody decided that this "journal" was worth putting into print. Very few redeeming qualities.

I really was expecting much more from this book. Instead of a story of a real person, this sounded made up. It was as if Chelsea were telling the story of some fictional character rather than herself. It was all too "typical" of your eating disordered person and it seemed as though she were saved a little too easy. While not your typical eatig disorder story, I would reccommend Wasted by Marya Hornbacher.

I think this book is realistic. From her journal, she lets you in on her thoughts and concerns, when in most cases you would never be able to get that kind of insight. Coming from having an eating disorder myself, it helped to know that I wasn't alone in my situation. Also, the added words from her mother gives most of us a point of view we would never truly get an opportunity to hear. As long as you remember to take it as the story of her struggle and her recovery, I think it is worth reading. If you can't relate to it, it still has good insight for a friend or a family member, or anyone interested in the subject of eating disorders.

This book is probably the weakest personal account of an eating disorder i have read. Chelsea is juvenile in her idealisms and shallow in her everyday thoughts and concerns.I am not saying she didn't suffer, I just think that this was one journal that didn't need to go to print. I highly recommend WASTED by marya hornbacher< spelling? that is a deep, teeth to the bones story. she dosn't dance around anything. it is served straight up and often leaves those who have been there speachless.

Finally a book about eating disorders that isn't all sarcasm and would be wit. A book about a girls battles and triumphs, fears and ambitions, but most importantly about herself, her needs and her recovery.

This book is wonderful. Chelsea tells you exactly what she was feeling at different stages of her disorder. She knew what she was doing was awful, but the disease was stronger than she was at times. I also liked this book because it tells a more complete story. Chelsea takes you through her treatment, how that felt, and also how scared she was of relapsing. She had tremendous determination to get better. I like the insight from her mother as well.