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The most important books to read for Eating Disorder Awareness Week.


It is officially Eating Disorder Awareness Week in the UK and we at Maximum Pop! know that nothing raises awareness, busts myths and opens your eyes wide, quite like a good book. We went to twitter to find out directly from you which were the most important books on eating disorders that everyone who wants some sort of insight into them has to read.

If you are struggling with food and eating yourself you can go to Beat (beating eating disorders) or Mind where help and advise can be sought.

  1. ‘Paper Weight’ by Meg Haston.

https://twitter.com/booksandchill/status/702221375214329856

This is the story of Stevie being packed off to a treatment centre to try and fight her suicidal urges and her problems with food. But Stevie doesn’t want to be in the centre. The other people there clearly aren’t as good as she is at controlling their food intake, and she has plans to get out before her 60 days are up. Although Stevie can be a horribly manipulative character and at times incredibly selfish you can’t help but be tugged along on her story and you get a heart-rending insight into all that she’s going through.

2. ‘Wintergirls’ by Laurie Halse Anderson.

wintergirls

From the New York Times bestselling author who has never shied away from difficult topics, ‘Wintergirls’ tells the story of Lia who’s parents think she’s recovering from her eating disorder, but really she’s just fooling them. When her former best friend dies after a struggle of her own with food Lia spirals and becomes more and more a wintergirl, only half in this world.

3. ‘Butter’ by Erin Lange.

butter

Butter cannot take another year of being overweight. Being beyond bullying, the poor relationship with his father – it’s all too much. So he decides he is going to eat himself to death. Darkly comic, a mixture of an uncomfortable read and a fascinating read you can’t tear your eyes away from this. It is self destruction through food and Lange does a brilliant job of portraying it. You can’t stop reading, you need to find out if he goes through with it.

4. ‘Massive’ by Julia Bell.

massive

Carmen’s mum is obsessed with the idea that thin equals beautiful, that thin equals successful, that thin equals everything you could ever want. And such ideas can’t help but rubbing off on her daughter, in all the worst ways imaginable. When everything seems to be going wrong, when you can’t control every other aspect of your life, food is something that is Carmen’s, or not Carmen’s, if she so chooses.

5. ‘The Time in Between’ by Nancy Tucker.

the time in between

‘The Time in Between’ is actually non-fiction, yes, Nancy’s story actually happened. Written when she was just 19, Nancy (now 22) shares with the reader the story of her life and her struggle with food. Told in a frank, moving, and down-right beautiful way, Nancy introduces us to The Voice which lives in her head and doesn’t want to let her go. As she struggles with school, friends, and hospitalisation Nancy gives one of the most complex and knowing insights into eating disorders there is out there.

Let us know if you’ve read any of these books and what you thought of them. And recommend us some more great books on eating disorders the world needs to know about – all over at @maximumpopbooks.