Restoring Our Bodies, Reclaiming Our Lives: Guidance and Reflections on Recovery from Eating Disorders [Paperback]

Aimee Liu (Author), Judith D. Banker (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: April 26, 2011

Full recovery from an eating disorder is possible. Despite what you may have been led to believe, most people with anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder are able to completely restore their health and well-being. But how does this happen?

Author Aimee Liu has woven together dozens of first-person accounts of recovery to create a break-through roadmap for healing from an eating disorder. Restoring Our Bodies, Reclaiming Our Lives answers key questions including: How does healing begin? What does it feel like? What supports and accelerates it? Will I ever be free of worry about a relapse?

Throughout the book are informative sidebars written by leading professionals in the field, addressing essential topics such as finding the right therapist, the use of medications, exploring complementary treatments, and how family members can help.

Learn more at the author's website: gainingthetruth.com

Editorial Reviews

Review

With clinical notes and information on new and unique approaches, Liu's effort offers something for everyone effected by this issue, whether personally, peripherally, or professionally.
 
--Publishers Weekly

“A terrific book with a compelling interplay between the perspectives of professionals and the stories of people who have successfully recovered from eating disorders. Highly informative and a great read.”—B. Timothy Walsh, MD, Columbia University Medical Center

“This book establishes new ground by walking the reader through the entire recovery process, from the initial turning points at the start of the odyssey to reclaiming one's life after an eating disorder.”— Judith D. Banker, past president, Academy for Eating Disorders

“I’ve read countless books about eating disorders, but I’ve never seen one like this. Combining the professional wisdom of leading experts with personal experiences from women and men all over the globe, this book fills a gap on the recovery bookshelf. Anyone who has been touched by an eating disorder needs to read this.”—Jenni Schaefer, author of Life without Ed

“An honest and often painful account of how ED can rob you of yourself, with a central focus on the realistic and complex process of recovery. The reader is able to intimately delve into the mind of a person with an eating disorder and examine his/her feelings at each point of the recovery process. Liu gives the gift of feeling the feelings, sharing the thoughts, and being aware that recovery looks different for every single person. As a parent, this is invaluable. The book gives me cautious, realistic hope for my daughter.”—Lauren Calig, mother of a child with an eating disorder, writing for the National Eating Disorders Association’s newsletter

“An honest and often painful account of how ED can rob you of yourself, with a central focus on the realistic and complex process of recovery. The reader is able to intimately delve into the mind of a person with an eating disorder and examine his/her feelings at each point of the recovery process. Liu gives the gift of feeling the feelings, sharing the thoughts, and being aware that recovery looks different for every single person. As a parent, this is invaluable. The book gives me cautious, realistic hope for my daughter.”—Lauren Calig, mother of a child with an eating disorder, writing for the National Eating Disorders Association’s newsletter

From the Author

The author's proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Academy for Eating Disorders' Clinical Research and Scholarship Program.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Trumpeter (April 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590308778
• ISBN-13: 978-1590308776
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Although I was born in Connecticut, my earliest memories are of India - the crisp feel of baked grass during the heat of summer, the primary colors of the tents that formed the classrooms of my nursery school, the taste of candied fennel seeds, and the faces of children peering, crying, playing, and begging from the fusty arcades of Connaught Circus to the alleys of Chandni Chowk. My father was born in Shanghai and my mother in Milwaukee, but India was the first home of my heart.

During my family's two years in New Delhi, my father traveled throughout Asia on business for the United Nations. My mother worked with the Indian Government, developing cottage industries, and adored South Asia. Expatriate life was full of everyday surprises, cultural challenges, and many Indian friends. My father, however, preferred China - at least until the Communist takeover in 1949.

Growing up with this quiet divide, I gave it little thought until, as an adult, I realized that it had contributed to my own overlapping loyalties. Though one quarter Chinese, I owed an allegiance to India, and although I was born and mostly raised in the U.S., my father's career with the United Nations gave mw a stamp of internationality that made me more inclusive than exclusive about my cultural identity. As a result, I have always been partial to stories and images of people with mixed heritage.
When I began to write fiction, these same stories and images informed my novels, from FACE, about a young quarter-Chinese photographer coming to terms with her childhood in New York's Chinatown, to CLOUD MOUNTAIN, based on the marriage of my white American grandmother and Chinese revolutionary grandfather. My third novel, FLASH HOUSE, centers on an American social worker whose quest to rescue her missing husband produces an unlikely bond with a native child of mysterious origins in India and western China in 1949. These novels have been published in more than a dozen languages.

Between India and fiction, of course, I did strike off in a few other directions. I spent my later childhood in suburban Connecticut, worked as a fashion model in New York, and graduated as a painting major from Yale University. My first book, SOLITAIRE, chronicled my passage through anorexia nervosa as a teenager. Released when I was just twenty-five, it was America's first anorexia memoir. Recently, I have returned to the subject of eating disorders in my forthcoming book GAINING: THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE AFTER EATING DISORDERS, which explores the many ways that eating disorders are NOT about eating and do not end with recovery of a healthy weight.

I have also co-authored seven books on psychology and medical topics, edited business and trade publications, and worked as a flight attendant and as associate producer for NBC's TODAY show.

In 2002 I served as president of PEN USA, a national organization of professional writers defending free expression. In 2004 I returned to school (age 50!) to earn an MFA at Bennington College. After graduation in 2006, I hope to teach in an MFA program myself.

Today I live in Los Angeles with my husband. I have two grown sons.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, useful book January 9, 2013

By ALK

Format:Paperback

This is a wonderful book, and I am very glad to have read it. As someone who was anxious and concerned about my progress in my own recovery, I am very thankful to have read this book. It was an amazing resource for showing me the diversity of experiences and validating my own unique experiences. It made me realize that I am doing better than I have given myself credit for! I am very grateful.

The only slightly negative thing I have to say about this book is that I would have preferred more information specific to binge eating disorder (particularly for those who are overweight), as the book tended to have a much heavier focus on anorexia and bulimia (and those who were underweight prior to recovery). However, I still gained a lot of useful information and inspiration from this book and highly recommend it!