Customer Reviews

Next to Nothing: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager's Experience with an Eating Disorder (Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands' Adolescent Mental)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are looking for a book that tells a little bit about what an eating disorder is like, giving a pretty accurate depiction in very few pages, and then focuses for the duration on treatment, this is the book for you. Carrie describes her experience with an eating disorder in about 25 pages, and then spends the next 120 pages talking about treatment, the options available, explaining the medical diagnostic side, tips during treatment, etc. If you are someone with an eating disorder that has decided to recover, someone that knows someone with an eating disorder and want to help them recover, or just want to find out about the treatment process, this book is perfect. However, if you want a book that truly describes "a firsthand account of one teenager's experience with an eating disorder" go read Wasted by Marya Hornbacher.

While this book was well written, and didn't have anything technically wrong with it (although I must say I quit reading shortly after she started talking about treatment, so I can't give a fully accurate review), the title is misleading. It isn't a book about her experience with an ED. It is all about treatment. I didn't want a book on treatment. I wanted a book on what it was like to have an eating disorder.

Know what you want to get out of the book, and then you will know if this is the book for you or not.

This book offers wonderful support and information to those suffering from an eating disorder as well as to the family and friends trying to help their loved one. The style is very engaging and easy to read, with lots of practical advice. The author draws upon her own experiences along the way. But, at the same time it includes the latest in scientific research and findings, in language that is very understandable. "Next to Nothing" has it all, and is a must read for those looking to understand the complicated world of eating disorders.

If you've struggled, or know someone who struggles with an eating disorder, this a book that can help you realize that you're not alone and that there IS help. I should know, I've struggled with them since I was a teenager, but have overcome them.
It can happen :-)

I agree with pookiegirl87, this book is very informative as far as treatment options available, the treatment process, etc, however it doesn't accurately portray what HAVING an eating disorder is really like. But maybe that's what you're looking for. As someone who suffered for half my life thus far, I was hoping for a more detailed depiction of the disease. This is not the book for that.

This book is full of useful information that can help those with an eating disorder, their familes and friends and those interested in general information. What she went through is spread all over in the book. I also found lot's of good ideas to use when confronting ED type behaviors.

This is a book with valuable information about eating disorders. As it chonicles one woman's struggle with an eating disorder, it reviews the psychiatric and medical complications associated with eating disorders. This book also gives references about seeking help and guidance to recovery. I am a professional who works with eating disorders and I will highly recommend this book to my clients and their families.

What seems to be advertised as Ms. Arnold's experience with battling her eating disorder, is actually a to-do list layed out with bullet points, interspersed with pieces of her treatment jaunts, leaving the reader not hanging, but rather scratching their head wondering what the heck was going on. The author tries to channel the writing of another well known, published author who also wrote about her struggles with an eating disorder, yet, this author falls short on the wit and dark humor; instead appearing as if she had forgotten the punchline to a joke.

This is a remarkable book of it's type. It is a comprehensive resource for all who is in some way affected by an eating disorder whether it be your child, yourself, your friend... I would even recomend this book to professionals working with someone afflicted with anorexia or bulimia. This book is written by a young woman and is geared toward adolescent eating disorders, but I find it valuable even for those who are older. It is an especially helpful book for loved ones or other people who want to understand eating disorders, how they manifest and take over one's thinking and eventually one's whole life. The book offers insites on finding therapy and dealing with relapse. I have read literally hundreds of books dealing with eating disorders and I don't always find them helpful, infact many inadvertantly (or not :)...) become a part of some anorexic and bulimic individuals' pathology. This book is honest and straight forward and it is not a book that many will use to "trigger" themselves to continue eating-disordered behavior, I find it to be one that promotes recovery and honor's the "self" in the process.

I remember reading this book a little over a year ago, when my eating disorder really started to take its grip. At times, I wanted to keep going down the path that I was creating for myself, while at others, it was inspiring and made me want to stop before it was too late. Though I did not stop and went down the path of anorexia, it would be interesting to read again after the fact, and I may have a different opinion about it.
It is in a very easy to read format, supportive, and informative.