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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
A remarkable memoir of a girl's journey through anorexia
Product Description
Emily Halban developed anorexia in her final year at school. She went on to university at Oxford where her disease took on a powerful dimension and by her final year she was so debilitated that she had to sit her exams in a separate room where she could be fed continuously throughout each one.
With heartbreaking candour and poignant intimacy, Emily vividly chronicles the complexities and inner struggles of living with anorexia. Two years on, she traces her disease from its elusive origins, through its darkest moments of deprivation, guilt and self-loathing, and finally recounts her journey towards recovery. Emily allows us to understand what it's really like to suffer from anorexia, exposing its secrets and dispelling some of the myths that shroud it.
Alive with self-awareness, but never self-pity, Perfect is an inspiring read that will help those battling with the horrors of anorexia find a way out, and those on the outside to understand more.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Sitting at table for dinner became my most dreaded moment of the day; and my day was spent calculating how to avoid any glance at my plate.'
Just one of the great many lines from Emily Halban's entralling book, which lingers deep in the mind afterwards. Fascinated by the subject myself for several years, reading Emily Halban's important book was a truely absorbing, moving and intriguing story of one human's years of suffering, the fear of life and the conquest for perfection, themes which all humans can relate to. So interesting in fact, I've read it twice to date and am sure I will read again.
A book not only about overcoming a disease but also of overcoming and beating the social pressures that life can build and inject into one human being, thus truely affecting their ability to think for themselves and live their life in full control.
A must read! Congratulations to Emily Halban for beating it and for writing this book for everyone to learn and share from.
Just one of the great many lines from Emily Halban's entralling book, which lingers deep in the mind afterwards. Fascinated by the subject myself for several years, reading Emily Halban's important book was a truely absorbing, moving and intriguing story of one human's years of suffering, the fear of life and the conquest for perfection, themes which all humans can relate to. So interesting in fact, I've read it twice to date and am sure I will read again.
A book not only about overcoming a disease but also of overcoming and beating the social pressures that life can build and inject into one human being, thus truely affecting their ability to think for themselves and live their life in full control.
A must read! Congratulations to Emily Halban for beating it and for writing this book for everyone to learn and share from.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Perfect is the autobiography of a privileged girl who grows up in Geneva with a doting family, housekeepers, cleaners, cooks and Summers' spent in the south of France. Emily is a high achiever who ends up suffering from Anorexia.
Emily writes a lengthy introduction over expressing how she doesn't blame anyone else for her illness. This is a good precursor for the rest of the book which uses sentences like, `I was treated with the medicine of love' and `let the heart speak for itself'. It is saccharine from the start which is hard to get past.
Her use of pretentious and pointless metaphors was irritating. She doesn't name the type of antidepressants she was on which was also bugged me. Furthermore, she doesn't say her weight lost or gained during her recovery and relapses either.
In the first chapter of the book she claims she `never lies' then later on she recounts how she told her father she ate when she didn't - I'm pretty sure that counts as a lie. It is hard to believe someone who contradicts themselves in this way. It is also difficult to accept that she doesn't lie as Anorexia is a solitary illness that almost always involves lying or fracturing the truth to a strong degree.
The main subject of the book is Emily's recovery from her illness, the effect of it and her relationship with her family. The descent into anorexia (referred to here as Cruella) is scarcely present in this book.
She talks about having the `best' of everything from the best apple to the best fitting clothes. She never discusses money as this is clearly something she never has to worry about or consider. This is further proved as she discusses the treatments she had. During the course of her illness she tries psychiatry, psychotherapy, seeing a nutritionist, hypnotherapy, family and group therapy. She sees GPs, gynaecologists, endocrinologists and has CBT.
In chapter 19 when she talks about the loneliness of having to put on a `happy face' when everyone else wants to turn the page (you to be well) the book finally feels somewhat relatable.
The book feels affected and sentimental. It is a tough task to empathise with this `little girl' she keeps reminding us she still is.
If you want an accurate, well-written, honest autobiography of Anorexia I strongly suggest you read `Wasted' by Marya Hornbacher instead.
Wasted
Emily writes a lengthy introduction over expressing how she doesn't blame anyone else for her illness. This is a good precursor for the rest of the book which uses sentences like, `I was treated with the medicine of love' and `let the heart speak for itself'. It is saccharine from the start which is hard to get past.
Her use of pretentious and pointless metaphors was irritating. She doesn't name the type of antidepressants she was on which was also bugged me. Furthermore, she doesn't say her weight lost or gained during her recovery and relapses either.
In the first chapter of the book she claims she `never lies' then later on she recounts how she told her father she ate when she didn't - I'm pretty sure that counts as a lie. It is hard to believe someone who contradicts themselves in this way. It is also difficult to accept that she doesn't lie as Anorexia is a solitary illness that almost always involves lying or fracturing the truth to a strong degree.
The main subject of the book is Emily's recovery from her illness, the effect of it and her relationship with her family. The descent into anorexia (referred to here as Cruella) is scarcely present in this book.
She talks about having the `best' of everything from the best apple to the best fitting clothes. She never discusses money as this is clearly something she never has to worry about or consider. This is further proved as she discusses the treatments she had. During the course of her illness she tries psychiatry, psychotherapy, seeing a nutritionist, hypnotherapy, family and group therapy. She sees GPs, gynaecologists, endocrinologists and has CBT.
In chapter 19 when she talks about the loneliness of having to put on a `happy face' when everyone else wants to turn the page (you to be well) the book finally feels somewhat relatable.
The book feels affected and sentimental. It is a tough task to empathise with this `little girl' she keeps reminding us she still is.
If you want an accurate, well-written, honest autobiography of Anorexia I strongly suggest you read `Wasted' by Marya Hornbacher instead.
Wasted
Format:Paperback
This is by far the best book on Anorexia I have ever read. It was a clear and moving account of Emily's struggles with food and I was able to identify with everything she wrote. Thank you Emily for being so honest and providing hope and comfort for those who are still suffering from this dreadful illness. Everyone with an eating disorder should be reading this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a fantastic book if you want to read more about the healing process .
this book is brilliant i got it and by the end of the day id read over 3/4 of it ..i could not put it down .. Read more
Published 12 months ago by blue orchid
Insightful, but not for all
I have a relative who is suffering from AN and I wanted to read a real life story to help me understand and give me hope. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Catherine
Perfect - Anorexia and me
This is a really good book to read to try and understand someone suffering with Anorexia.
Published 23 months ago by Mr. Gary Hall
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