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Review
A moving account of one woman's struggle with anorexia --Independent
Heartbreaking but fascinating --Heat
A disturbing and important book written with tough compassion --Maureen Duffy
Heartbreaking but fascinating --Heat
A disturbing and important book written with tough compassion --Maureen Duffy
Heat
‘Heartbreaking…fascinating’
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an unusual and interesting look at one young girl's experience with anorexia and bulimia. Written by an already acclaimed writer, 'To Die For' tells the story of Emma, the author's god-daughter. And the fact that Carol Lee is professional writer is very clear, as the book is eloquently written in an impressive style.
Starting with Carol's first encounter with Emma, she narrates Emma's story in a dramatic, absorbing manner. From's Emma's unstable and unhappy childhood, Lee chronicles her growth into a deeply depressed teenager. Using extracts from Emma's own diary, we see her go through dangerous eating-disorded cyles. Developing severe anorexia at the age of 15 and being hospitalised, Emma's weight swings from one extreme to the other, eventually becoming very overweight throught binge-eating. This cyle is repeated several times by the time Emma is twenty, with her weight veering from dangerously low to almost obese within months, resulting in several more hospitalisations.
Writing as an onlooker to the apparent choas of Emma's life, Lee accounts her attempts to reach out and help someone who is clearly desperately unhappy. It is a frustrating position for her to be in, as she must watch as anorexia takes over the girl she once knew.
A gripping read, that will no doubt imprint on the reader's mind.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A true story of the relationship between the author, Carol Lee, and 'Emma', a young girl suffering from an all-consuming eating disorder.
This book is refreshing in the sense of its perspective. You, the reader, can feel the despair on behalf of Carol, who cannot comprehend why such a disorder has sunk its claws so deeply into the child she loves. Often, books about this subject draw primarily from the perspective of the sufferer, but it is important to show how much this disorder affects those who love the one who is struggling also.
Through her writing, Carol tried to record as much as she could to help both herself and 'Emma' to overcome the illness. It can be harrowing at times to read how severely the illness took over their lives, and to see how it gave 'Emma' a personality that was not truely her own, and certainly not easy to get along with.
Most importantly I admire the way that the author has made the direct link between the bouts of anorexia and bulimia, for they are two sides of the same coin, and equally painful to live through. Many books like to sensationalise the anorexia over and above the bulimia, thus ignoring the suffering of each, and the dangers that can be severe in both.
It is also realistic to never fully understand why 'Emma' came to suffer in this way, for eating disorders are complex and often hard to unravel entirely.
So, now you may wonder why I have only given To Die For 4stars? Well, it is simply the ending that loses the marks. 'Emma' recovers, and good on her for doing so... but it's the way this bit is portrayed. In her own words she remarks that once she decided to allow herself to eat it was easy. And that is a difficult thing to read, for as anyone who has tried to recover will tell you, it is not an easy task at all. And if it were that easy then why would so many people buy books such as these in the vain hope of finding an answer to help either themselves, or to help someone they love. It almost seems to belittle the enormous battle that rages inside, during the recovery stages.
Having said that, it is still a well written book. It is still a good book to be read even if you have no experience of an eating disorder, and it explains them very well indeed.
This book is refreshing in the sense of its perspective. You, the reader, can feel the despair on behalf of Carol, who cannot comprehend why such a disorder has sunk its claws so deeply into the child she loves. Often, books about this subject draw primarily from the perspective of the sufferer, but it is important to show how much this disorder affects those who love the one who is struggling also.
Through her writing, Carol tried to record as much as she could to help both herself and 'Emma' to overcome the illness. It can be harrowing at times to read how severely the illness took over their lives, and to see how it gave 'Emma' a personality that was not truely her own, and certainly not easy to get along with.
Most importantly I admire the way that the author has made the direct link between the bouts of anorexia and bulimia, for they are two sides of the same coin, and equally painful to live through. Many books like to sensationalise the anorexia over and above the bulimia, thus ignoring the suffering of each, and the dangers that can be severe in both.
It is also realistic to never fully understand why 'Emma' came to suffer in this way, for eating disorders are complex and often hard to unravel entirely.
So, now you may wonder why I have only given To Die For 4stars? Well, it is simply the ending that loses the marks. 'Emma' recovers, and good on her for doing so... but it's the way this bit is portrayed. In her own words she remarks that once she decided to allow herself to eat it was easy. And that is a difficult thing to read, for as anyone who has tried to recover will tell you, it is not an easy task at all. And if it were that easy then why would so many people buy books such as these in the vain hope of finding an answer to help either themselves, or to help someone they love. It almost seems to belittle the enormous battle that rages inside, during the recovery stages.
Having said that, it is still a well written book. It is still a good book to be read even if you have no experience of an eating disorder, and it explains them very well indeed.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
i dont really know anything about great literature, and i dont read much, but i could not put this book down!!!! as someone with a mild eating disorder it really put things into perspective- i would reccomend this book to anyone struggling with anoreixa or any other eating disorder. it is really inspiring (to get better). i read it in 4 days and it normally takes me 4 months to read a book! i have just bought a load more books on a similar topic because i found it so interesting.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant, very pleased!
I loved the book, its really touching, well written and very hard to put down! I found the diary entries from Emma herself partially touching. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Olivia
Not great
I was disappointed in this book, I would have liked more insights and illumination of eating disorders. Read more
Published 19 months ago by hyperconformist
bearable, but my no means brilliant
Very cleverly written, and by no means lacks insight. However in some parts of the book I feel certain themes are perhaps repeated and over written, which makes the book quite,... Read more
Published on 15 July 2006 by S. Wilson
irritating but readable
it's frustrating that the story is told through the eyes of Emma's godmother, so not everything can be conveyed in a way that would benefit the book in the best way. Read more
Published on 21 May 2006 by Lucia Donofrio
A bit boring
I really did find it a boring...
Generally there wasn't enough about the girl involved. Ok it had a few diary entries but not enough explanations and descriptions. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2006
awe inspiring
i thought this book was fab. it truely let you see inside the life of someone suffering from an eating disorder and how hard it is for the family to cope. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2005
to die for
I have struggled greatly to complete this repetitive desperatly boring book. The author has clearly made money from anothers illness. Read more
Published on 3 May 2005 by D. Hoare
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