Customer Reviews

A Starving Madness: Tales of Hunger, Hope, and Healing in Psychotherapy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must confess. Judy Rabinor is an old friend, so I can't claim to write an unbiased review. However, I can tell you that, friendship aside, I have wanted Judy to write this book for years. She is a wonderful, compassionate therapist with a gift for telling stories of healing. She is insightful and brings a humanness and humor to her work that is inspiring. I am happy to say that Judy has brought all those qualities to her book--and more. I like that the book gives the reader a private glimpse into what really happens in therapy--the hopes, the struggles, the triumphs, and even the despair. More people should be writing about what really goes on in the therapy room and what the therapist is thinking about as she sits and listens to other people's stories. Judy's deep commitment to spirituality also comes through in this book. She has woven her stories into tapestries of growth in body, mind and spirit.
So, yes, I do know Judy, but that's the very reason I can so highly recommend her book.

"A Starving Madness" is a showcase of how to heal and be healed in therapy. This book is of infinite value not only for those who struggle with eating disorders, and those therapists who treat them, but for anyone, professional or lay person, who wants to truly understand the collaborative process of doing psychotherapy. In her extraordinary book, Dr. Rabinor sensitively and intelligently shares with the reader the journeys she has taken with her patients in their quest for healing. Dr. Rabinor emerges as an extremely gifted and courageous therapist and human being.

Dr. Judith Rabinor has accomplished something extremely rare in the psychotherapy literature: she has written a book that reaches deep into the reader's intellectual and emotional being in a powerfully nurturing and hope-inspiring way. I believe this statement is equally true whether the reader is a fellow professional or an eating-disordered person or any other human being whose psychic pain has remained unrecognized and unacknowledged. In 8 chapters, each telling a fascinating and engaging story of Dr. Rabinor's very real and human work with a very real and human patient, the process of therapy is captured beautifully and sensitively, as a collaborative process suffused with the humanity of both participants. As she expresses herself in her writing, Dr. Rabinor clearly emerges as an extremely talented psychotherapist, but she also shares herself in very personal ways: her self-doubts, her fears, her concerns, and her genuine caring for the people with whom she works; and it is clear that all of these aspects of who she is contribute to the quality of the therapeutic engagement and the transformative value of her work with her patients. This book was inspirational for me in that it conveys the hope of the healing that good psychotherapy can offer. As a psychotherapist, I know that my work with my patients can offer the same hope, and I am confident that my sharing this book with my patients can serve as a very useful adjunct to the very personal exploration that each therapy relationship entails.

A Starving Madness: Tales Of Hunger, Hope, & Healing In Psychotherapy is a collection of stories based on the clients of Judith Rabinor, a New York psychologist who specializes on eating and body disorders. With its candid presentation of the art of psychotherapy, and a compelling testimony of hope for finding the right balance in body and mind, A Starving Madness is highly recommended reading, especially for anyone seeking or needing professional help to deal with body image distortion and eating disorder conditions.

Judy Rabinor has the rare gift of educating through beautifully crafted stories. Each chapter could stand alone as a beautifully written short story, and the cumulative effect grows, so that by the book's conclusion, the reader has an ever-deepening understanding of this most difficult issue. I have recomended this book to patients who suffer from eating disorders, their parents, mates and friends. They thank me for the recommendation, and tell me that not only is each chapter filled with the realities that they have faced, but also that their understanding of this profound problem is further deepened. Dr. Rabinor's honesty about not only her patients, but also her own experience of the therapeutic process, including the pain some of the cases have induced in her, was especialy welcome. This is a book that belongs on the shelf of anyone who has been touched by this problem, and any therapist who treats it.

I just finished reading this book and needed to write and tell all how unbelievable I felt that the book was. Each chapter engrossing, emotional, unbelievable!!!

So many pieces of each story felt like they were speaking to me directly (food issues, body issues, family issues, seperation issues, depression issues) I sort of felt the book was written just for me, and I think that this is what all readers of the book will feel. We all have some piece of these things inside us don't we?

Bravo, Author Author

In her book, Dr. Rabinor weaves a beautiful tapestry of hope using the unique stories of her patients with eating disorders. Her spirituality shines through in this wonderful book, while her openness about her own human shortcomings and doubts creates an endearing image of a very caring therapist.
Whatever your path, I can gaurantee you will benefit from reading this book. It brings a true message of hope and lets us know that healing from eating disorders takes a lot of work, but with committment it is possible.
Bravo!

Dr. Rabinor's beautiful book should do for women's body images, what Carol Gilligan famously did for women's relational consciousness. The two have much in common in their sensitive writing style, their originality, their kindness to our wounds. Highly recoomend this wonderful book. Five stars.

her book was a total wake up call for me. after suffering from this illness for almost 17 years i had lost all hope of ever recovering. it was as if a light went on in the dark. thank you judy!!
!!!!read this book!!!!