Life Beyond Your Eating Disorder: Reclaim Yourself, Regain Your Health, Recover for Good [Paperback]

Johanna S. Kandel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2010

There is life beyond your eating disorder—and you deserve to enjoy every minute of it.

Johanna S. Kandel, founder and executive director of The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, struggled with her eating disorder for ten years before finally getting help. Now fully recovered, Kandel knows firsthand how difficult the healing process can be. Through her work with The Alliance—leading support groups, speaking nationwide and collaborating with professionals in the field—she's developed a set of practical tools to address the everyday challenges of recovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Kandel, founder and director of The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, brings her own successful recovery from anorexia and bulimia to this readable text whose message is that full recovery is possible. Noting that no recovery is “perfect,” the author, who stresses that she is not a health professional, seeks to free others from identifying with the disorder and risking becoming it. Kandel seeks to empower readers by sharing her own past—how her youthful perfectionism and aspirations to become a ballerina fueled her need to control and numb her emotions, which stoked her disorder—as well as the stories of others. She also offers practical advice, using boxed and large-type inserts to emphasize main points: “My eating disorder gave me carte blanche not to have to do things that scared me: I didn’t have to feel . . . Basically, it protected me . . . from life.” With a list of resources, Kandel’s experience and accessible self-help approach should help many find and remain on the path to wellness. --Whitney Scott

About the Author

Johanna S. Kandel, Founder and Executive Director of The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Central Florida. After a ten-year battle with various eating disorders, she founded The Alliance in October, 2000. Kandel has mentored many women during their treatment, helped spread information on eating disorders and advocated for eating disorder legislation on a state and national level.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (September 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373892268
• ISBN-13: 978-0373892266
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #512,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and inspirational September 7, 2010

By Maria M.

Format:Paperback

Reading this book felt very much like sitting down with a cup of tea and having a heart to heart with a close friend. A very caring and gentle one who understands thoughts and feelings you may have never felt brave enough to speak out loud and of which you may have even been ashamed at some point. Johanna's words had me smiling, laughing, and even crying at different points throughout the book. Her naturally warm tone and easy to understand language make it impossible not to relate to her experiences.

Johanna shares her personal story of living with and recovering from an eating disorder and offers thoughful and useful "tools" that she has developed throughout her journey as well as learned from others along the way. More than anything, I think this book is filled with invaluable insight pertaining to an experience we all share in which I plainly and simply call "life". Anyone who has struggled with issues relating to self-esteem, belonging, wanting to please others, never feeling good enough, all or nothing thinking, and many other characteristically human experiences will surely relate to Johanna's account.

Moreover, this book helps to remind you that you are not alone, no matter how lonely it might feel, and that there is hope! Hope that it is possible to let go of the need to control and to be perfect and that you will still be okay. Hope that you can genuinely learn and be comfortable with loving and taking care of yourself and live a life that is truly full and satisfying (though by no means perfect).
I believe listening to Johanna's story of recovery will be helpful to anyone, whether or not you have lived or are living with an eating disorder. I am happy that she has chosen to write this book and hope that many will benefit from her heartfelt words and wisdom.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book About Life October 25, 2010

By Sharon G

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Life Beyond Your Eating Disorder is a wonderful guide to living! The author speaks openly about the struggles that each of us face every day of our lives. This book does not focus solely on eating disorders. It reaches out to anyone who struggles with any issues in their lives. Johanna is open, honest, caring, and hopeful throughout the book. She reaffirms the idea of self worth! We can all use that message.
Johanna will make you laugh, cry, and discover your true self. Anyone who reads this book will take one important message away with them - YOU CAN DO IT! Whatever it is, have hope, show strength, be happy, and be healthy!
This book is a MUST READ for both women and men.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational October 26, 2011

By ask4cathy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Thank you for writing this book, Johanna Kandel!! I found this to be quite inspirational and educational. Just reading about your story and to learn that recovery is possible was, as you would say, was a great "baby step," for us. Also, as a Mom, I liked your crayon and middle-drawer concepts/tools (just to name a few)!

I would recommend this book to anyone involved with any eating disorder! Would also reccommend this book to anyone OF ANY AGE, (especially those with young girls or boys); with or without these eating disorders as the perception of 'reality' that is being portrayed in the media & to our youth is misaligned.

Lastly, I found Johanna's reDEFINE-ing REALity inspirational!! A definite 'MUST READ!'