Slim to None: A Journey Through the Wasteland of Anorexia Treatment

I haven't read much of this book yet, but the subject matter is something I'm well-read and researched on. I haven't read much about it earlier diagnosing and treatment of eating disorders though. So this is something I'm anxious to learn more about.

I am a recovering anorexic. I was hospitalized numerous times before something inside of my mine just snapped and I was ready to let go. Really ready. And I am one of the very few lucky ones. I love this book. Jennifer's father reminds me of my own and the struggle he put up to keep me alive. My father never gave up. Jennifer's father held on until the very end when he finally gave in and knew she was going to die. My heart breaks for him, and for Jennifer. Eating disorder treatment has come a LONG way since Jennifer's struggle, but it is still severely flawed. Insurance companies are atrocious and refuse to pay for long term care. Families without means to pay for repeated and extended treatment are left stranded. Every single person in my family, including extended family, took out a loan and combined their money to pay for my treatments. One private hospital took me in for free after my dad pleaded with them and my doctors had said I would die. This hospital, my family's love, and luck saved my life. It shouldn't be so difficult to obtain treatment for a fatal disease. That's the message Jennifer's father is trying to get across. I've read some other reviews who express concern that people criticize treatment, and may be less inclined to seek it after reading this book. But I think it is a powerful statement that has been a long time in coming. When are we going to view eating disorders as biological illnesses that cause psychological illness? When are the doctors and hospitals and insurance companies, not to mention society in general, going to see eating disorders for what they are? Medical. Fatal. Diseases. Like cancer of the mind. They must be fought early and aggressively. And it must be POSSIBLE to do that. For anyone who suffers with an eating disorder. Thank you, Mr. Hendricks, for writing this book. Thank you.

Ms. Hendricks gives a wrenching account of what it's like to struggle with an ED from both sides - the victim's and the family's. She also hopefully helps to expose the often-ineffective and downright inept attempts at "treatment" that some sufferers have experienced - "behavior modification" and outright punishment by some therapists that can often result in regression once the patient is discharged.

As the parent of an anorexic teen I commend the author of this book for his courageous exploration of the nightmare world of eating disorders. Slim to None is a devastating story of family and personal trauma that makes real an illness that is often dismissed as silly and superficial. This book provides meaningful insight into the family interactions surrounding the disease and validates my own personal experience. Many of my friends who read this book found it difficult and disturbing. For me, it describes the reality I face on a day to day basis. I found most compelling the father's acceptance of his daughter's choice and fate. The author has defined with compassion the very difficult position of a parent in letting go with love. Ultimately, this book gives me hope. I recommend this book to anyone who faces the crisis of a family member with an eating disorder and for those intimately connected with the issue. It is impossible to get inside the head of an eating disordered individual. I think Slim to None provides that insight and an opportunity for understanding as well.

Slim to None is the first account of anorexia that I've ever read to be true. It's as though my sister (who suffered from anorexia and passed away a year ago) lead me to this book in order for me to understand better. That is what this extraordinary book does - it helps people comprehend and sympathize those involved with this illness. I hope health care professionals will read this and start thinking differently. This book gives hope that there one day will be some kind of intelligent insight into this aweful illness.