Brave Girl Eating, Harriet Brown

I’ve never had anorexia, but I know it well. I see it on the street, in the gaunt and sunken face, the bony chest, the spindly arms of an emaciated woman. I’ve come to recognize the flat look of despair, the hopelessness that follows, inevitably, from years of starvation. I think: That could have been my daughter.

It wasn’t. It’s not. If I have anything to say about it, it won’t be. In this emotionally resonant and compelling memoir, journalist and professor Harriet Brown takes readers—moment by moment, spoonful by spoonful—through her family’s experience with the nightmare of anorexia. A guiding light for anyone touched by this devastating disease, Brave Girl Eating is essential reading for families and professionals alike.