Fat is a Family Affair: A Guide for People with Eating Disorders and Those who Love Them [Paperback]

Judi Hollis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

Judi Hollis helps readers understand the compulsive nature of eating disorders and its dramatic effect on the entire family. The step-by-step format and personal examples help readers Explore their role in this complex disorder.

Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services; 1 edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894862634
• ISBN-13: 978-0894862632
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #461,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A provocative & important book on a serious American problem, June 16, 2000

By 

Earl Hazell (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fat is a Family Affair: A Guide for People with Eating Disorders and Those who Love Them (Paperback)

We look so often to chemicals like cocaine, alcohol, or heroin when we are thinking of addiction and the corresponding behavior patterns that become the hallmarks of an addict's life and relationships. And then it is almost expected that we fly into our abstract heads and think of things like television and the internet- or just recently sex- when we think of possible things to be addicted to, devoid of any sense of connection to a deeper-seeded emotional or psychological condition. Hollis brings such a compassionate but painstakingly thorough analysis of the addiction to food and the painful emotions it both masks and magnifies- and then moves out into the relationships of those suffering from it- that you cannot help but believe, and be moved.

When you begin to see that underneath every bouncing, life of the party- or quiet and mousy- woman in a size 20 or bigger dress is an enraged and hurting soul who has learned to be afraid of everything involving either intimacy, independence or risk- to the detriment of joy in her life- you will see all women differently. And the guy with the beer belly may be telling the same story.

Hollis manages to underscore and illuminate this problem without being maudlin or dramatic, or victimizing people out of a sense of personal power. Instead she allows not just people with eating disorders to see what is happening and how to come through it, but those involved with them, often codependently, to see that they have a path to walk to reality as well. After reading this book so many reoccurring issues in my relationships became impossible to ignore or explain away, as they all centered around my weight, her weight, and my fears of forging ahead in my career (and being alone while doing it).

Women must be reminded that you don't have to look like Tyra Banks to be beautiful. But they must also have it known that you don't have to be suffering with a body that is more a cry for help than it is an honest expression of who they are. And, that people who love you- family and friends- have almost as much responsibility as you do, to bring love and trust and honest relating and support into your life. The behavioral paradigms of fear and grief do not discriminate; neither does forgiveness, wisdom, or love.

I advise anyone who can relate to the emotional issues, personality traits, behavior patterns and relationship games/dramas laid out in this book to take it seriously. It can help a great deal.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extreme encouragement found in these pages!, May 7, 2002

By 

"beggarbooks" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat is a Family Affair: A Guide for People with Eating Disorders and Those who Love Them (Paperback)

If you are looking to lose weight or just want to discover why you overeat then this is the first book you should read! It is filled with encouraging stories and takes a closer look at why diets are not enough to keep the weight off. Easy-to-read and encouraging this is an honest, practical book.

5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Different, May 29, 2003

By 

"intentaccess" (Boca Raton, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat is a Family Affair: A Guide for People with Eating Disorders and Those who Love Them (Paperback)

This book is different I guess the best way to describe it. It tells stories and I don't see where I benefited from the book. The author is very judgmental attitude but there isn't real depth as one reviewer stated. I wasn't impressed, I wouldn't say it was a waste of money but my time is what I lost on this book. It just is different.