Customer Reviews

Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I just looked up the word "campy," and there is nothing campy about Life without Ed. As a woman recovering from an eating disorder and as a clinician treating eating disorders, I find this book to be a refreshing change from the staus quo of tortuous memoirs and over-intellectualized material that tends to occupy this market.

The recovery work described in this book is undoubtedly the real deal. Jenni Schaefer has obviously worked hard to overcome her eating disorder and she is to be congratulated for that. And while we're at it, let's congratulate her for the willingness to share her story so candidly, and for being creative enough to bring such a delightful sense of humor to this very serious subject matter. She no doubt gets some of the humor from her therapist and co-author Thom Rutledge. His writing (the best of which is Embracing Fear) always manages to bring together serious self-help and the kind of humor that offers a perspective that is in and of itself healing.

If you have even the slightest interest in understanding the inner-workings of eating disorders, buy this book. If you are a therapist or counselor who works with eating disorders, buy this book. If you love someone with an eating disorder, buy this book. And if you have an eating disorder --- definitely buy this book.

Who says medicine has to taste bad to be good? Learn, grow and enjoy Life without Ed.

Sarah Wiley, Ph.D.

Jenni Schaefer has accurately captured the life and feelings of a perfectionist in her book Life Without Ed. Although I have never experienced an eating disorder, I obsess about calorie intake on a daily basis and am bound by the chains of physical appearance. I found the exercises at the end of each section helpful in confronting the voices and negative criticisms that my own abusive SuperEgo (Ed) throws my way.

Jenni Schaefer does not discount the seriousness of eating disorders nor does she try to convince you that divorce from ED is easy. She provides practical ways to distinguish between what is healthy and what is ED. The awarness that I gained from this book (especially section 1) has enabled me to start the separation process from my own abusive self criticism.

This book applies to all recovering perfectionists. The exercises, personal experiences, strength, and weakness that the author shared make it a real and valuable resource on my path to recovery. I highly recommend this book to anyone enduring self criticism and abuse.

In "Life Without Ed" Jenni Schaefer provides a look into her life and how, by learning to view herself and her eating disorder as separate beings, she overcame her disorder. I believe this process can work for some people, but it is not the "cure-all" for everyone. I am not discounting the author or her work or her process of recovery, but I could not get through this book and take any of it seriously enough to get anything of use out of it. Schaefer talks about writing a "Declaration of Independance", fashioned almost word-for-word after the original document, and then signed by members of her support group. In another part, she speaks of getting caller I.D. placed on her home telephone in order to prevent "Ed" from calling her.

When "Ed" is a voice inside one's head, the notion that said voice could morph into an actual physical being with the ability to use a telephone is rather absurd. I understand the symbolism behind it, but found myself laughing at various parts of what I presume is supposed to be a serious book, not a piece of comedy.

A better book is "Eli's Wings" by Elizabeth Best. Her book is a look into her life both with her eating disorder and through the recovery process. While she doesn't sugar-coat recovery (it is harder in some ways than living with the disorder), she also writes in a way that is captivating and leaves the reader inspired, rather than "triggered", like some other books out there.

Life Without Ed provides hope, insight, motivation and energy to individuals experiencing eating disorders. One aspect of the book which first captured me is that Life Without Ed truly guides the reader into the separatation of self from ED. This is the first step necessary to intiate treatment, and a component of treatment that must be maintained.I assign this book for reading to those who enter treatment at The Center for Hope of the Sierras. It has proven to be of great use to so many individuals under my care. Jenny and Thom also use humor wisely, reaching out to those who suffer in a warm and compassionate manner. I highly recommend this inspiring book which is clearly written from the heart with intelligence and wisdom!

One of the challenges of being a parent with a child suffering from Anorexia is finding educational sources for them that are supportive of ending the disease without providing further information on how to secretly purge and restrict and without blaming the parents, the media, or "culture" for their illness.

After reading literally dozens of books in the field, this was the only one we encouraged our child to read. She quickly empathized with the notion of the ED being separate and distinct. It helped and continues to help her cope with the dangerous and unhealthy impulses brought on by the disease.

There are only a handful of books that I recommend to parents and sufferers. This is one of the mandatory ones.

This is a fantastic book!! Jenni Schaefer gives us a very realistic look at living and winning against our eating disorders but adds enough humor to make this an enjoyable read. She also lets you know that you are not alone in this fight and at times it seems she's fighting ED right there with you.The book helps you come to understand what and who you are up against with your eating disorder. The chapters are short(easy to get thru before your attention wanders). However,the chapters are filled with so much information that you find yourself rereading them and picking up more info each time. The exercises in the book truly work. This whole book teaches you to Separate, Disagree and Disobey ED(eating disorder). I especially liked learning how to talk back to ED -I feel ED's power comes from the mental warefare he launches inside your head 24/7. The book provides steps to combat and end this constant emotional abuse. I feel you will really benefit from reading this book. I highly recommend it!!!

"Life Without Ed" is wonderful! I was so happy to find an eating disorder book filled with humor and optimism, and I couldn't help smiling as I read through each unique section. I'm recovering from an eating disorder myself was comforted to know that I'm not alone in my struggles, setbacks, and eventual successes. Jenni Schaefer found a way to put a positive spin on a serious issue. The book was not only informative and educational, but it was hilarious, too! I finished feeling hopeful and eager to implement some of Jenni and Thom's activities into my own recovery. I definitely recommend this book to anyone dealing with their own Ed, or anyone else interested in learning more about eating disorders from an inspiring point of view.
P.S. I also liked that the cover allowed me to read this book in public without trying to strategically hide a big EATING DISORDERS title. I know you can't judge a book by it's cover, but I noticed and appreciated it anyway...

Written by a woman who has overcome her own struggles with her eating disorder ("Ed"), Life Without Ed is a first-hand account illustrating how dealing with an eating disorder is in many ways similar to being in an abusive relationship. Jenni shares how she was able to painfully separate herself from Ed by learning how to discern her own voice, goals, rules, values, and beliefs from his. She shares the work that she has done during her recovery process, while encouraging the reader to design and discover their own unique path to recovery. She demonstrates how recovery involves more than separating from Ed---it also involves reconnecting with your self to finally satisfy your hunger for life.

I found Jenni Schaefer's "Life Without Ed" extremely informative, helpful and friendly. Her honest humor brings a personal touch to such a difficult personal problem. She quite simply, and expressively, puts it all out there, confronts readers with the nitty gritty truth about their experiences and decisions, and comprehensively presents the means to stand up to E.D. Schaefer's book also serves to inspire and encourage, as she's been there, too. And her book provides the same practical exercises that have helped her to regain herself. I highly recommend this book to those who've not net left ED, and to those who are trying to support someone in recovery.

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"Life Without Ed" is a novel and creative way of looking at and overcoming an eating disorder that worked for one woman---depersonalizing it as a separate persona and entity and then interacting with it, thus learning about it and about herself. She conceptualizes this process as "divorcing Ed" ("Ed" as a male name that is short for "eating disorder"). She learns over time and with lots of hard work, to disagree with and disobey Ed, and instead, to listen to and follow the healthy part of herself that was still there, even though it had been overcome by Ed for many years. This process is ultimately healing for her, though not a quick fix. Anyone with an eating disorder knows this is the only way anyone can truly recover---there are no quick fixes---and it's hard.

Many reviewers who were suffering with eating disorders found this book informative and life-changing. I found it creative and refreshing. A few others found it not helpful, but very few. Despite its serious nature, "Life Without Ed" is helpfully humorous and fun to read. It is short (188 pages), and organized into brief, absorbable, and topical chapters.

"Life Without Ed" is recommended, foreworded, and co-authored by Thom Rutledge (he writes the helpful exercises throughout), a terrific author himself, and a creative psychotherapist. He was the author's therapist throughout her recovery.

It is appropriate reading to learn to deal with any and all eating disorders, from anorexia and bulimia, to NES and general food issues. It would even helpful for related issues such as perfectionism, body image, and exercise obsession.

The author is transparent and open about the realities of having an eating disorder. Her stories compare and contrast her life now that she is free from anorexia and bulimia (especially her thought life) with her life before recovery; this was of particular interest to me. She writes compellingly about surviving relapse.

"Life Without Ed" delivers on its promise of hope beyond eating disorders. It is encouraging, inspirational, and realistic. It shows, through the example of the author's life, how to stand against your eating disorder and for yourself.
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