7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a find!, February 8, 2005
This review is from: The Starving Family: Caregiving Mothers and Fathers Share Their Eating Disorder Wisdom (Hardcover)
When our daughter developed anorexia, one of the most difficult things my wife and I had to cope with was the feeling of isolation. Unlike other potentially deadly diseases(anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness and is the leading killer of women 16-24), the stigma attached to Anorexia precludes the development of the kind of support groups one easily finds with breast cancer, leukemia, MS etc.
During those early days, we searched desperately for a book that would be of help to us as parents. Specifically, something that would share what other parents found that worked. Our own experience indicated that most doctors, indeed most of the so called "experts" had no real answers for how to save our child's life. We initially assumed that our experience was unique. As Dellasega's book amply demonstrates, that was not the case. I wish we'd known that then; it would have saved us enormous heartache.
The most useful insight parents can get from the book is that normal, healthy, happy, joyful families get kids with Anorexia. Most of the literature on Eating disorders blame the parents as do most of the therapists out there treating it. They do this in subtle and not so subtle ways. "The Starving Family" not only demonstrates anecdotally that this stereotype is false, but Dellasega specifically addresses and begins the process of debunking it(chapter4).
If you're the parent of an Anorexic, then this is a must read.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Parent-Oriented Look at Dealing with Eating Disorders, April 30, 2005
This review is from: The Starving Family: Caregiving Mothers and Fathers Share Their Eating Disorder Wisdom (Hardcover)
If you suspect that your child or the child of someone you know suffers from anorexia or bulimia, buy and read this book. It could be a life saver!
Dr. Dellasega found a few dozen families who would talk to her about experience of dealing with eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia). From those interviews, she has put together a book filled with practical advice, lots of resources and profound wisdom about how to have everyone survive the experience.
Many people don't know that anorexia is a very dangerous illness: Many who suffer from it eventually die. In fact, the disease's definition is such that a person is pretty sick before the diagnosis is applied.
What even more people don't realize is that few physicians know how to spot the disease or treat it (including your pediatrician). You will probably have to get your child to an adolescent medicine doctor with experience in treating these diseases before you can be confident of even having a proper diagnosis.
It gets worse. After being diagnosed, most patients get a lot worse before they start to get better. That's because there's no "one treatment that fits all." So the first few things you try probably won't work . . . and may even make matters deteriorate.
You'll have other problems. Your own life will become almost unbearable between the demands of the treatment, the likelihood that others will shun you, your child and child's therapist may finger you as a guilty party, and learning that the treatments (which can run over $100,000) are often not covered by health insurance. And this is a multi-year problem to solve.
What you will learn will help eliminate delays in the child's recovery, save you or the parents much unnecessary emotional pain, vastly reduce the expenses, and will help keep a family together that might otherwise be torn apart.
May God bless you as you walk this rocky path!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The manual for caregivers - you are not alone, June 8, 2005
This review is from: The Starving Family: Caregiving Mothers and Fathers Share Their Eating Disorder Wisdom (Hardcover)
With plenty of books from doctors and sufferers of eating disorders on the market, one of the areas that has been missing is how families cope with loved ones with those disorders. The Starving Family fills that gap by sharing the insights of various caregivers. Eating disorders or any other kind of similar problem does not occur in isolation. It affects and involves everyone who cares for or about the individual. Educational, insightful, and full of encouraging advice for those dealing with this problem The Starving Family is highly recommended.
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