Eating with Your Anorexic: How My Child Recovered Through Family-Based Treatment and Yours Can Too

• Publisher:   McGraw-Hill
• Number Of Pages:   256
• Publication Date:   2004-12-15
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0071445587
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780071445580

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 266 KB
• Print Length: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (December 15, 2004)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0013AZDDU

A source of hope and valuable information for parents of children with eating disorders

This poignant and informative narrative relates how one mother rescued her daughter from the "experts" and treated the girl's life-threatening anorexia using a controversial approach. Known as the Maudsley Approach, this home-based, family-centered therapy, developed in Great Britain in the 1980s, has been receiving a lot of press here over the past few years. While it has been widely used in Europe for many years and is rapidly gaining acceptance among parents and within the pediatric and child psychiatric communities in the United States, until now, there were no popular books on the subject. Must-reading for parents of children with eating disorders, Eating with Your Anorexic is:

• The first popular book on an increasingly popular approach to curing eating disorders
• A source of practical information and guidance for parents of children with eating disorders
• An eloquent narrative filled with pathos that inspires, empowers, and informs

I would never recommend this book to parents with a child who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder. Ms. Collin's attitude is very smug and she sounds like she has some serious control issues. I bought this book thinking it would have practical suggestions on how to eat with my daughter. Ms. Collins does not give any practical suggestions at all. Our family has tried the Maudsley approach (with the help of Stanford Hospital and their eating disorder clinic) to re-feeding and it did not work with my child. My daughter was too smart to let me add a lot of calories to her food and refused to eat. I finally realized that Maudsley does not usually work with older adolescents. In Chapter 24, the author writes "I must tell you how incredulous I am, even now, that most anorexics must be hospitalized before the most simple and effective treatment known to science for eating disorders is administered: three square meals a day." What a arrogant sentence. My daughter was hospitalized several times due to medical instability because of her anorexia. It wasn't that we weren't trying at home to re-feed her. Ms. Collins makes it sound like that all you have to do is place the plate in front of the anorexic and she will eat. There may be some bumps along the way, but eventually she will cave and do what "mom" says. If only it was that simple. This book is more about the "look at me! look what I've done" attitude of Laura Collins. I would not recommend buying this book if you want suggestions on helping your child through family based treatment. The book to read is "Help your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder" by James Lock.

This book, while the story is admirable, did not provide any significant help for our family that has a young child with an eating disorder. I was looking for an evidence based and thoughtful guideline to help us, which this is most definitely NOT. Instead, it is a rant against society and the medical community. Instead, I would recommend "How to help your teenager beat an eating disorder" which is written by knowledgable medical experts.

I just finished this book last week. Laura clearly has a talent at writing. I found the book to be engaging and real. By the end of the book, I felt like Laura really understood me and all of our experiences as we have treated our son. I also felt like she accurately challenged many of the current problems in treating anorexia with mostly her mother's instinct. I personally think she was right on the mark. I'd like to have her courage and influence in speaking out and changing inaccurate perceptions (see some of the reviews below) of what anorexia is and what it isn't.

As the mother of an anorexic child, I was searching everywhere for knowledge about the disorder. When I received this book, I realized we were not alone, and there was light at the end of a very dark tunnel. This author really speaks with positivity that gave me hope for my daughter's recovery. I have utilized every word of this real story, and am thrilled to report my daughter's recovery is underway. We are living proof that the Maudsley approach to eating disorders works! Thank you Laura Collins for sharing your personal family triumph overcoming anorexia!

One of the worst days of my life was the day my daughter was diagnosed with anorexia. And I'm convinced that all that saved her life, and my sanity, was stumbling across a copy of this book in our local library. I read the whole thing standing in front of the shelf, crying, and then went home with a new plan. Today, two years later, my daughter is healthy and happy and in full recovery (at least now). The information Laura Collins provides in this book is priceless--and it's not disseminated by the medical profession. For parents who are overwhelmed, grieving, and scared, this book is a lifeline and a lifesaver.

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