Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (P.S.)

"I picked this book up at the library because another I wanted wasn't available. What a break! I love memoirs and biographies that are direct and Hornbacher pulls no punches. Suprisingly, she doesn't blame everyone around her for her problems (although that grandmother was pretty awful). Hornbacher is a truly gifted writer even if her subject here is heartbreaking. As a female, I have suffered from eating 'issues' but nothing compared to Hornbacher. I had no idea the level of suffering these people go through... the laxatives, vomiting so much it clogs the pipes, slow journey into madness... all because of FOOD?!

I do wish that the book were clearer on 2 things - 1) when and why did she stop taking her meds after 1st hospitalization. Does she go on/off with the meds? Stopping her meds cold-turkey may have immensely affected her relapses. 2) Why does she not mention the young boy, Duane, from Lowe House, again after chapter 6? Does she not visit him or keep in touch? It seems he needed her as a friend and perhaps that need could have helped her too... just a thought.

Finally, thanks to Marya for writing this book. I am raising 2 young daughters and I will try to remember how harsh little comments about food can sound to a child with low self-esteem. Where ever Marya is today, I hope she is better and EATING. No one should suffer the way she has!
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~ Written on 2008-08-25

"Before I delve into my textual diatribe on why this book fails on so many levels, let me go ahead and issue this disclaimer: I am aware this is no "feel good" treatise. I understand it's "raw, painful & bloody". I comprehend to the best of my abilities the candor in which she constructed every disposable consonant and vowel imaginable, as I am also very cognizant of the fact I no longer have my Barnes and Noble receipt and cannot return this pile of rubbish for a full refund.

Eating disorders make one pretty self-absorbed, but the deluge of pitiful emotions Hornbacher must drudge up on daily bases must be a private Hell to which I have no ticket. In this book, she manages to make bulimics and anorexics look dull, self-centered, sans any kind of emotional or mental intelligence. I see here, or so the Amazon dot com website tells me, she also suffers from bipolar disorder and is, yet again (way to go, Hornbacher), cashing on all the things wrong with her so she may stretch herself naked against the frigid electron microscope of my literary wrath. She owns up to every horrific thing you could ever do to yourself and to everyone around you (bulimia at a precocious age, self-aborted pregnancies, promiscuous behavior on shuttle buses, etc), which I suppose is admirable, however it does not lessen the validity of one's horror thinking that someone can be that truly off from the rest of society.

I am a counselor for girls with eating disorders here on the web, and I would not recommend this tripe to them with the beating of my own heart. This is not a recovery tool. It's a veritable, raving, histrionic account that our society and the generations before us have done a fantastic job of messing everything up for the common person and, shall I say, have given writing contracts to those who only mass-market themselves. Kudos, Hornbacher. You have officially turned my stomach."
~ Written on 2008-07-24

"The book was great. It wasn't at all a phony "inspirational" or advice type book, and the author speaks in a refreshingly honest tone; none of the whiney "woe is me" you might expect. Overall an excellent book, although I will say that I was mildly put off by the ending. But I suppose that no one really picks up this book with the intention of using it to replace therapy. She's not going to "cure" you, or even tell you how she was "cured". As long as you know that before hand, it's a great read."
~ Written on 2008-07-13

"This was exceptionally written. Marya is a girl who suffers from severe anorexia and bulimia and lived to tell about it. When she begins her story and talks about when she first started her bulimia, her observations of things at this young age seemed far beyond her years. Her feelings and thoughts are described in the most intricate detail and intelligence. It isn't a surprise that Marya won awards for her writing.
I grew up during the 70's and 80's but I can't really relate to the obsession with body, weight and food. Society may play a part in her eating disorder but I think her family, their lifestyle, her relationship with her parents and their eating habits all contributed to Marya's eating disorder.
I am amazed at how well Marya was able to put her experience, thoughts, feelings and diagnosis into words. Her ability to go back and interpret her disease and why she did the things she did is truly amazing.
I think all girls, teenagers and adult woman should read this book. Not only for the perspective of the eating disorder but to get a true picture of how everywhere you go women are talking about their weight and the parts of their bodies they hate. "
~ Written on 2008-07-01

"Marya Hornbacher is witty, honest, and surprisingly insightful. Marya does not hold back. I can not imagine what it is like to have the truth (pretty much, the bad, the ugly, and the uglier) out on paper, much less published and widely circulated. It certainly takes courage. There is always a little part of the human psyche that does not want to "look in the mirror" to face the self-created and self-destroyed reality. I was equally impressed to find out that Marya was 23 years old when she wrote this memoir, the maturity of her voice, philosophical discussions, and the depth of her experiences do not betray this fact. This is definitely a must read for anybody looking to find out more about life (and death) with EDs. "
~ Written on 2008-06-03