Gaining The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders

by Liu, Aimee

• ISBN13: 9780446694827
• ISBN10: 0446694827
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-02
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Summary

Nearly three decades after she detailed her first battle with an eating disorder in Solitaire, Aimee Liu returns with a powerful and poignant investigation into the true causes and consequences of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Much more than a memoir, GAINING draws on cutting-edge research and the vividly told stories of over forty interview subjects to shatter commonly held beliefs. Liu reveals that the tendency to develop an eating disorder has little to do with age, culture, class-or weight. Genetics, however, play a key role. So do temperament, anxiety, depression, and shame.

Author Biography

Aimee Liu is the author of a groundbreaking account of anorexia nervosa, Solitaire. She has also written three highly acclaimed novels, Flash House, Cloud Mountain and Face. Liu is the former president of PEN West, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. xi
Introduction: To Gain Is Good	p. xiii
Know Thyself: Temperamental Truths
Connecting the Dots: A Genetic Link	p. 3
Portrait of a Hunger Artist: The Face of Fear	p. 24
The Laws of Perfection: Obsession and Compulsion	p. 40
Wanting for Nothing: Avoidance	p. 67
Good Bad Girls: Shame	p. 90
The Physics of Normalcy: Personal Relationship
A Certain Self: Identity and Independence	p. 115
Terms of Endearment: Family Dynamics	p. 139
Growing Children: Parenthood	p. 163
Love and Other Terrors: Honor and Intimacy	p. 184
A Wider World: Consumer Society and Body Image
Consuming Passions: Competing for Health	p. 211
The Wisdom of Age: Maturity in a Youth Culture	p. 228
Gaining Power: Becoming Agents for Change	p. 247
Acknowledgments	p. 261
Resources for Information and Activism	p. 265
Suggestions for Parents	p. 270
Selected Bibliography	p. 273
Index	p. 283
Reading Group Guide	p. 291
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