BOOK REVIEW: Fasting Girls - The History of Anorexia Nervosa by Joan Jacobs Brumberg
Let's face reality, women are always trying their best to look good. Most importantly, the figure has to be an eye-catcher and what better way than to be svelte. I too was unhappy with my weight of 45kg and constantly felt "fat" although my weight and height was just perfect. When I started working, and my weight drastically dropped to a measly 30kg, I was startled to see a skeleton instead of being happy with the weight loss.
Weight and the idea of thinness have always plagued the female mind and turned to worries. Looking at myself, I finally understood that weight loss doesn't mean anything if it was going to make you look sick instead of the opposite. This book too made me realize how important it is to keep educating people on accepting themselves no matter what size they are.
When this book first appeared in 1988, anorexia nervosa was widely considered a new disease. In fact, most people thought it would go away. The author changed that perception by demonstrating when and where anorexia nervosa originated and why it has become so "popular" in our time.
A classic work that is both a biography of the disease and a sustained inquiry into the cultural forces that perpetuate it, this book - newly revised and updated - will stand for years as the authoritative book oj the subject.
I found this book very absorbing and at some points made me feel quite uneasy when vivid descriptions of anorexic patients were put forward. However, all these have served to enlighten that physical beauty isn't everything and that skills and brains are equally important.
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