Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Seriously–my poor son. He finally succumbed after all of his sisters had at least moved past the worst of it, and last night he threw up every few hours while sporting a temperature of 103 or so. (None of the girls threw up, but then, he’s really the only one of my kiddos who gets nauseated and occasionally vomits when his fever spikes). I’m feeling extra exhausted and not quite well myself, which is why last night’s regular post didn’t happen after all; on the other hand, all the kids were in bed by 8 tonight, and so I’m taking the opportunity to post a review that’s long overdue and thus avoid letting the (physically) viral awfulness put me behind.

Part of the reason this review is so long overdue is that I’ve struggled to know just what to say. St. Martin’s Press was kind enough to send me an ARE of The Girls at 17 Swann Street a year or so ago; in my continuing quest to catch up, I finished it several months ago, and I was completely–undone. (I was thinking blown away, but that is far too violent and explosive of a metaphor to express the effect this book had on me.) I’ve been drawn to anorexia nervosa in an odd way since high school, ever since the health class in which I learned that I’m the poster personality for the disease–except for the fact that I love, love, LOVE to eat. (I love eating and food and trying new things far more than I want to lose significant weight. That’s frustrating now that I’ve hit 40 and my body reacts differently to food, by the way.) I was a detail-oriented, self-disciplined, self-motivated, and high-achieving student, and continued to be (more or less, depending on life circumstances) through college, where I actually wrote a paper on anorexia. (Using, I might add, at least one internet article. Finding said article felt so intimidating at the time that I emailed a friend from home for help; the internet was not something I was accustomed to using for information. This was THAT LONG ago.) I read Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls shortly after it came out, and was moved by it while frustrated that it ended at the very start of Lia’s journey to recovery. AND I entered to win a copy of Yara Zgheib’s The Girls at 17 Swann Street, which was hauntingly, heartbreakingly beautiful. It was stark and painful and ultimately hopeful. It consumed me while I was listening to it (audio still being what I have the most time for), and even my husband was affected by what he heard. Anna’s (and Matthias’) story is a journey into residential treatment for eating disorders, a window into a house where eating meals and snacks consumes so much mental and emotional energy that there is little room for anything else. It is a searing look at what our culture tells us about what our bodies should and should not look like AND what we should or should not do to make them look that way. This is a book that will make you cry, make you cringe, make you smile, and make you think. It is lyrical and spellbinding and arresting and thought-provoking.

It is a book that needs to be read.