Sunday, July 01, 2012

An Apple a Day - Emma Woolf

An Apple a Day - Emma Woolf (2012)

Emma Woolf is 32 when she decides to tackle her anorexia head on, and try to start eating again.  With the help of her boyfriend, her goal is to gain enough weight to be able to conceive.

On her journey we get to join her from eating only an apple and low fat yoghurt a day to being brave, and tasting chocolate after a ten year break and eating carbs.

I admire her bravery for allowing others to read about her battles as she does look at all the reasons that may have caused her eating disorders and allowed it to rule her life for so long.  Having seen it in someone I know, I know how hard it is for them to face their demons, to eat enough every day, to eat with friends and family and discuss their issues without retreating.

For myself, I now weigh too much and have my own issues with food as most of us do.  A long time ago, in my teens I spent a crazy year with eating.  I survived on 500 situps , and a diet of an apple,  crackers  and a cup of chicken noodle soup a day.  The weight slipped away, and for a brief time, my size ten miniskirt could be spun around my hips.  I was seduced by being skinny for a moment, and enjoyed seeing bones that had been hidden.

I can see how easy it would have been to stay in that place, with a feeling of control and order.  It's easy to put rules in place, and punish ourselves for straying.  We all have our own issues, those things we won't eat, judging other by what they eat or my own favorite or judging people by what they buy in the supermarket.

So a good read - a 4/5 from me.  Worth picking up if you no someone who is struggling, to give you an insight into their lives.




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