Customer Reviews

Dying to Please: Anorexia, Treatment and Recovery, 2d ed.

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
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I didn't know how much I didn't know about Anorexia before I read this book. Rich, multi-layered information! And I appreciate how refreshingly readable it is - beautifully written with precision, economy, eloquence, humanity and disarming candor. This is an invaluable resource both for professionals who are working with anorexics and those who are suffering from the disease - either as victims or loved ones.

Rumney wrote the 1st edition 25 years ago. In this 2nd edition she details how the past 25 years have informed her work as a treatment specialist as well as her personal growth and recovery from Anorexia. She weaves a candid and forthright telling of her illness and recovery throughout the book, which beautifully supplements her keen clinical perspective. The new information also includes vital clinical research, current trends (including shocking info about impact of the internet!), some astounding statistics and treatment centers listed by state.

The combination of her professional view and personal story provides a compelling understanding of this most perplexing condition. Her comprehensive discussion of what comprises effective treatment and why specific treatment modalities work is essential information for individuals researching treatment options or professionals who provide or refer treatment.

An excellent resource on Anorexia!

Junelle Barrett Porter, MFT

This is a comprehensive, highly informative and well-written book by a seasoned therapist specializing in eating disorders, Avis Rumney, LMFT. I sincerely appreciated the author's heartfelt personal story of her eating disorder and recovery, combined with extensive information about the causes and treatment of anorexia. I would recommend this book to any family struggling with an eating disorder, as well as to therapists who need a greater understanding of the complexities of this disease.

Avis Rumney has created a beautiful book that integrates personal and clinical experience, discussing the widespread cultural issue of women's body image and its effects on eating and self-esteem. I would recommend this to any parent of a girl of any age, as well as individuals or families dealing with any type of eating disorders or compulsive overeating. Also useful for clinicians working with these issues in their practice.

Joe Bavonese, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Ann Arbor, Michigan

It is regrettable that the orthodox medical establishment fails to acknowledge that many modern ailments are caused by deficiency of one or more essential nutrients. This is the case with anorexia which very commonly is due to deficiency of the essential mineral zinc. People who are seriously deficient in zinc tend to lose almost complete interest in food and often find eating to be repulsive. When such people are given adequate daily supplementation with zinc their interest in eating usually returns and their anorexia -- if present -- disappears.

It is true that many cases of anorexia start out as a result of deliberate food deprivation -- generally as an attempt to lose weight. But when such food deprivation results in a severe deficiency of zinc, it becomes involuntary and requires zinc supplementation to be overcome. I realize that many -- perhaps most -- people reading this will not believe that anorexia can be successfully treated by supplementation with zinc, but such success has been achieved many times by people willing to try it. Incidentally, zinc is an essential cofactor for more enzymes than any mineral other than magnesium. Deficiency of zinc and/or magnesium is a major cause of many modern ailments which are regarded as difficult to treat when, in fact, they are quite readily treated by appropriate supplementation.