Life Without Ed

Title: Life Without ED: How One Woman Declared Independence From Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too. 

Author: Jenni Schaefer

 

Genre: Health/ Psychology

 

Rating: 4 Stars

 

Synopsis: I had purchased the 10th Anniversary Edition, which meant that Schaefer had included elements of her full recovery following the release of her successive book in 2009, Goodbye ED, Hello Me.

 Schaefer wrote Life Without ED in 2004 as an almost fully recovered anorexic and bulimic. However, at the point of writing the book, she had still not succeeded in eradicating her eating disorder completely. The 10th anniversary edition will be the most helpful to read in my opinion, as Schaefer provides the reader an insight of a life after achieving full recovery. She allows us to discover that the only thing stopping us from achieving a full recovery is ourselves.

 One thing that I found thoughtful was that the chapters were short, to account for the low concentration capabilities of the starved brain. This is a huge positive of the book, as it allows ALL eating disorder sufferers who are contemplating recovery access to the help they deserve. As well as this, she personifies the eating disorder, which is extremely helpful in identifying what thoughts are yours, what thoughts belong to the eating disorder, and how you can separate yourself from it. This is an extremely valuable tool for recovery.

 The most important thing this book offers is hope, that full recovery is possible! The only thing stopping us is us. We are scared to let go of our eating disorders, and who can blame us? The eating disorder became a part of us. It feels like we are relinquishing a significant piece of our personality. It feels like we are getting rid of a piece of ourselves. But Schaefer normalizes this fear, and shows us that there is life after interaction with an eating disorder, and that we can find ourselves.

 “Recovery is not a commitment to fight ED; it is a decision to listen to your heart and follow your dreams. When Ed was front and center in my world, I lost sight of what I really wanted out of life. All that seemed to matter was food and weight. I was so lost that I almost followed a completely different path in life. Ed was screaming so loud in my head that I could not hear the part of myself that wanted to sing and write. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that dreams don’t come true. Especially, don’t let Ed tell you that what you really want out of life is impossible. It may very well be impossible if Ed is running the show, but once he is knocked out of the driver’s seat, you will see that anything can happen.”

 There were also many interjections (that were incredibly useful and easy to apply to your own recovery) from psychotherapist Thom Rutledge, who provided some really great exercises that I’ve found beyond helpful. Together, Rutledge and Schaefer offer ANYONE from ANYWHERE the hope, desire and motivation to begin the treacherous road to recovery. I really did love this book.

 My reason for omitting a star is that I found the jokes a little too intense. However, this is probably not the book itself, rather this could be attributed to my dislike of written comedy! I like my books sad and gloomy! Despite this, I’ll be getting her second book soon, Goodbye ED, Hello Me.

 I strongly recommend this book to ED sufferers, carers, family members and friends, so that they can try and understand what is happening to you a little more. Brilliant book. I really urge you to give it a go!

– @recoverywolf

The Killer Next Door

TITLE: The Killer Next Door

AUTHOR: Alex Marwood
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
RATING: 5 Stars
SYNOPSIS:

No. 23 has a secret. In this gloomy, bedsit-riddled south London wreck, a horrifying collection quietly waits to be discovered. All six residents have somethign to hide.

Colette is on the run from her ex-boss; Cher is a shildren’s-home escapee; lonely Thomas tries to make friends with his neighbours; and a gorgeous Iranian asylum seeker and a ‘quiet man’ nobody sees try to keep themselves hidden. There for them all is Vesta, a woman who knows everything that goes on in the house – or thought she did,

But one of them is a killer, expertly hiding their pastime, all the while closing in on their next victim…
Although murder lies at the heart of this story, it focuses much more on the residents of number 23 and their lives. We are drawn into their squalid environment, managed by a slimy, negligent landlord. and see their lives through their eyes. We also see, disturbingly, through the eyes of the killer. The novel is full of moments of tension as each of the characters moves in and out of danger, slowly building to a dramatic conclusion. The characters are well-developed, and their relationships to each other believable. Detailed descriptions evoke empathy, and create vivid pictures of the London setting.
The main purpose of the narrative is not to instill terror, but to give an accurate portrayal of city life for these inhabitants. There are some darkly comical moments which contrast nicely with the undercurrent of menace that persists throughout.
I have previously read The Wicked Girls by the same author, and would have to say that this – her second book – is even better.

– @cupcakes.n.daydreams

I Let You Go

TITLE: I Let You Go

AUTHOR: Clare Mackintosh
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
RATING: 5 Stars
SYNOPSIS:

In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world is shattered. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape her past, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of the cruel November night that changed her life for ever.

DI Ray Stevens is tasked with seeking justice for a mother who is living every parent’s worst nightmare. Determined to get to the bottom of the case, it begins to consume him as he puts both his professional and personal life on the line.

As Ray and his team seek to uncover the truth, Jenna, slowly, begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating.

I Let You Go is a dark, psychological thriller. It opens with a tragic accident resulting in the death of a child. Told from alternating narrative points of view, it gradually unfolds to a gripping conclusion.
The story centres around Jenna, and the police investigation into the accident. Jenna has escaped to begin a new life, but has a disturbing past which threatens to catch up with her. We also see events from the perspective of DI Stevens as he attempts to solve the hit-and-run case. The separate voices are very clear, and the characters believable. This gives us a well-rounded view of events, and helps to draw the reader into the story as we experience it first-hand.
There are several twists in this multi-layered story that keep the reader guessing right up until the end, and it makes it hard to review without giving away too much of the plot. Suffice to say that I couldn’t put it down. One word of warning; this book could potentially be triggering for anyone who is familiar with abuse. If this is not likely to affect you, I’d say this book is well worth a read.

@cupcakes.n.daydreams

I Am Pilgrim

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
One of the best crime novels ever written! A coherent and gripping story linking the murder of an unidentified woman in a new York hotel room in the wake of 9/11 with a seemingly accidental death in Turkey and a shocking terrorist plot to take down America and the House of Saud. With only 2 phonecalls originating in Afghanistan as clues, agent Pilgrim is drawn from retirement back undercover to investigate a mystery that leads him to the darkest corners of the globe in order to prevent the worst terrorist attack in history. I Am Pilgrim is masterfully written, easy to follow and is overflowing with fantastic ideas and incredible facts. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down!

– @recovering_maya

Reasons to Stay Alive

Title: Reasons to Stay Alive

Author: Matt Haig

Stars out of 5: * * * *

I believe that this book is ESSENTIAL reading for anyone who has ever had a mental illness, whether that be depression, anxiety, eating disorders…anything that effects your mind in any negative sense. The book journals Haig’s battle with depression through short, concise chapters (perfect for those who can’t concentrate for long periods of time or who don’t have the time to sit and read a full book on leisurely afternoons). The book is based around Haig’s personal journey but also features beautiful sections of self-help advice such as ‘wherever you are, at any moment, try and find something beautiful. A face, a line out of a poem, the clouds out of a window some graffiti, a wind farm. Beauty cleanses the mind’. It is the perfect book to dip into on days when you are feeling down and struggling with life, to remind you that ‘there is no standard normal. Normal is subjective. There are seven billion versions of normal on this planet’.

– @theroadtodoughnuts

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism

Characters:

Main Character – the main character remains nameless throughout the book. He is a friendless and someone lonely character until he meets Lettie. He is calm and he is collected even when the supernatural starts to leak into his world.

Lettie Hempstock – a mysterious and magical figure who entrances the main character. She seems to be 11 years old and lives on an average farmhouse with her mother and grandmother, but all is not how it seems…

Ursula – a confusing baddie to the story. By the end, I still wasn’t sure if she was a bad goodie or a good baddie! Ursula haunts our protagonist’s dreams and tries to burrow into his soul, but for what reason…?

Plot: The main character’s life is fairly ordinary up until the day when a man steals – then dies by crashing – his dad’s car. When this happens, undead spirits are released into our world and the only girl who can save him is Lettie Hempstock, in the pond at the end of her garden…

Review: Neil Gaiman is an incredible writer and the way that he creates this world of demons, heroes and everymen is gorgeous. Every page of the book sparkles and he builds up tension in a way that would have you hiding behind your sofa cushions, whether it’s the description of a nightmare (‘haunting me: standing behind me, present and invisible, like the back of my head, simultaneously there and not there’) or a demon come to enter your soul through the heel of your foot, Gaiman’s writing will have you devouring this book!

– @theroadtodoughnuts

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Hi everyone!

I thought I might as well kick off with the first reviews and I’m going to do them in different styles just so everyone has more ideas of what they could write.

So. My first review is going to be for one of my favourite books of all time, a children’s classic – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, I know most of you have probably read – or been read – this story as a child, but I would definitely urge you to reconsider as an adult as it is one of the cleverest stories I have EVER read, and part of this is due to the fact that it was also written with an adult in mind. Lewis Carroll wrote the story to entertain three little girls and a reverend on a boating trip, and so lots of the story includes the CLEVEREST word play, mathematics and science that I have seen in literature, but it’s also so accessible to anyone who wants to read it!

I would say that Alice is a hero of mine – I have read an article that refers to her as one of the first feminists in literature, and I am currently writing my Master’s around her. Her no-nonsense attitude is refreshing to see from a little girl in a story, especially one as old as this (150 years!). She battles through every obstacle that heads her way, from a duchess whose baby turns into a pig, to changing size almost every chapter, to a Mad Hatter and a March Hare who seem to want non-existent answers to riddles. This story is DEFINITELY more character- than plot-driven, so if you prefer your books to be non-stop action and plot twists then this may not be the book for you, but if you like intriguing characters, something to make you think and consider the world differently, and a little sense of curiosity then I would recommend Alice with all my heart.

– @theroadtodoughnuts

First blog post

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