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Wasted

a Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
ksoles
May 27, 2013ksoles rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Bulimic at age nine and anorexic at fifteen, freelance writer Marya Hormbacher explores treatment options for those with eating disorders while telling her own story of vomiting, starvation and ravaging her inner organs. With reference to journals and thousands of pages of her own medical records, Hombacher theorizes about her quest to make herself disappear. Although in many ways she fit the profile of a person with an eating disorder (chaotic family life, perfectionism), she argues that society's dictate, "you can't be too rich or too thin," greatly contributed to her struggle. The author's descriptions of both the desperate need to binge and purge and the grip of the addiction to not-eating vividly portray the dysfunction that gives rejection of nourishment terrible potency. The author remains unconvinced that she will survive, struggling each morning over her bowl of Cheerios and trying to let go of the urge to be thinner. Ultimately, "Wasted" exposes the complexity of eating disorders, proving that they are not simply about food.