Perfect: Anorexia and Me
Emily Halban is one of our youngest published authors who, at age 24, writes about her experiences with anorexia. She wrote Perfect: Anorexia & Me in order to dispel misconstrued impressions of the disease, to offer a "raw" account without provocative sensationalism, to draw the reader into as real and honest an experience of anorexia as she could ever have found it within her to write.
She wrote this book for those who have suffered or who are suffering from anorexia, perhaps to find a glimpse of faith, maybe to find something that they can hold onto to help prod them forward, or maybe just to discover that they are not alone – it is such a lonely disease. Emily also wrote to try to break down taboos and to make it less scary to mention anorexia outside the context of "size-zero" fashion controversies. She writes in the hope of voicing what some may be too scared to tell and in the hope of inspiring others to voice their story too.
The publisher's synopsis mentions that: "Emily developed anorexia in her final year of high school. She went on to college at an Ivy League school where her disease took on a powerful dimension. By her final year she was so debilitated that she had to take her exams in a separate room where she could be fed continuously. With heartbreaking candor and poignant intimacy, Emily vividly chronicles the complexities and inner struggles of living with anorexia. She traces her disease from its elusive origins, through its darkest moments of deprivation, guilt, and self-loathing. As she recounts her journey towards recovery, Emily draws us into her raw experience of anorexia, exposing its secrets and dispelling some of the myths that shroud it. Beautifully written and alive with self-awareness, but never self-pity, this inspiring read will offer those battling with this all-consuming disease a glimpse of perspective and hope, and help those on the outside to understand more."
