Customer Reviews

Learning to Be Me: My Twenty-Three-Year Battle with Bulimia

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have struggled with bulimia for 7 years. i am not recovered yet. But i am trying to read books to guide me through my recovery process. This book is so touching. Jocelyn is real. She openly shares her most humiliating experiences and the miricals that have helped her recover. Eating disorders are, for many of us, an outlet for expressing emotions. Suffers dont know how to express emtions in a "normal" way. We resort to controlling our eating behavior. Jocelyn's story helped me find the reasons i chose to resort to bulimia. It also gave me a a sense of courage that no other book or story has ever given. Jocelyn's story is worth reading. It can help anyone struggling. I wish I could meet this woman with such strength.

This book was in-depth history of her Eating Disorder (140 pages) and a short (40 pages) account of what happened to her during the start of recovery. She talked briefly about therapy. She talked very little about what the recovery felt like and the emotional and physical challenges she faced during recovery. I wish the book had in-depth details about the start of her recovery process, not just the years she suffered. Not a good recovery resource, but it was interesting and honest. Suffering from an Eating Disorder is the worst!

I read this book cover to cover in a few days because it took me on a rollercoaster ride of what an extreme eating disorder is really like and how the recovery process is so involved.

I read it because there is someone in my extended family who we suspect has an eating disorder and I want to be as informed on the subject as possible. This book made me realize that there is no time to waste - I cannot conceive of our family member going through what this author has.

All I can say is thank you for telling your story, it will help others.

I read this memoir and realized very quickly, that Memoir was an accurate category for this book. It certainly does not belong in self help/recovery.
Jocelyn's narrative keeps repeating descriptions of her terrible life in a way that makes this tragic disease seem petty. I have endured this dis-ease for 23 plus years and I found Aimee Lu's book "Life after an Eating Disorder" so full of hope and rcovery and revelation about this disease.
I found this book to be full of triggers and narcissistic thoughts. It is a "Go Ask Alice" for eating disorders.
""Sensing the Self" is also fantastic, but a little more clinical. If you are looking for recovery, read about recovery. If you are looking for a description of how tragic and destructive and miserable an addiction can be, read a memoir.

I've worked with hundreds of women suffering from bulimia at an inpatient treatment facility. This book does a very good job elegantly describing a very non-elegant disease. The author takes you through the emotional and day to day details of her bulimia from a child well into her adulthood with an important honesty and a pleasing writing style. She describes the onset subtly and poignantly and she spares no detail when writing about her lowest moments in the disorder. The ending, and her recovery, are inspiring but not sappy and unlike other books she describes the recovery process rather than glossing over it. This book is not perfect and drags at points, but the author does not let those moments last long. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about eating disorders and anyone suffering from one.

I was disappointed with this book. Jocelyn Golden provides a detailed description of being bulimic, but that's about it. I didn't find anything informative or helpful for recovery in this book. The story was fragmented and not too well-written; it was actually hard to follow at times. Several times while reading it, I wondered if I had somehow gotten an unedited copy. I've read quite a few books about eating disorders and recovery, and this was probably the weakest.
Still, my heart goes out to the writer, whose difficult childhood experiences lead her into long battle with a debilitating illness.

I found this book to be inspirational. I have battled a similar battle as the author. I thought she was very honest and helpful through out the book. It inspired me to seek treatment. My husband found the last chapter written by her husband very informative and helpful. This is a great book. It doesn't glamourise eating disorders nor is it overdramatic, it is honest.

This is a fabulous, well-written story about the reality of bulimia. I love that the author was so descriptive in both her internal and external struggles while learning to deal with this illness. I also was relieved to find a book that tells the story of a woman with long-term bulimia. She struggled with this illness for many years, and she was still able to work through what she needed to in order to get better. This story describes all the feelings and experiences that go with bulimia, and it is such a wonderful, hope-filled but realistic portrayal of what is going on out there. I was struggling with my illness when I read this book, and it let me know that I was not alone and gave me courage to reach out and get the help I needed because I could see how I viewed Jocelyn for going through her process and I admired that. This is a wonderful, wonderful story.

I came across this book at a time when I needed some hope. Someone very close to me is a sufferer and this book gave me some much needed hope that things could improve plus it provided insights on how I could help. I have since corresponded with the author who has been so kind and giving with her advice and words of support. I am so grateful for this book.

This book is NOT a book to be read by those struggling with EDs! One of the cardinal sins for successful intervention is that we must not discuss weight. Not only is this triggering to readers who may suffer from an ED - but EDs are NOT not only about food, but they are certainly not about weight or any other numbers for that matter.
It's fine to write a book about one's experiences with their eating disorders...it does help others feel a sense of universality - that they are not alone in this battle. However, there are very fine lines that must not be crossed due to the very fragile nature of the beast.
I strongly recommend that those of you who are experiencing disordered eating or a full blown eating disorder NOT read this book.