New Book: Anorexia and Bulimia in the Family

In it, Gráinne describes her experiences of caring for her daughter who developed anorexia and bulimia after leaving an abusive relationship. Unsually for this sort of book, it aims to be more than an autobiographical tale. Instead, Gráinne hopes to provide a practical guide for parents and other carers who are struggling in the face of an eating disorder in the family. As she points out, such a book did not exist up until now, and as such it represents an excellent addition to the literature. The focus is squarely on the carer's point of view and this is a good counterbalance to the many books written for/by professionals and those aimed at sufferers.

One important point is that this is not a book for the fainthearted. The author talks vividly and honestly about the misery and enormous stress which can be caused by living with an eating disorder. As she says in an early chapter: 'How bad can it get? Very very bad.' This view is based, not only on her own experiences but on those she has heard from other carers via her work on the Eating Disorders Association helpline. But I wonder if such a bleak view may be too harrowing for some readers and put them off of persevering through to the very helpful advice given in later chapters.

However, if you are ready to 'hear it like it is', this is a very readable book, with a skillful interweaving of the author's own story and suggestions and advice based on her own experiences. She writes poignantly of the way in which carers of people with eating disorders are sometimes treated cruelly by professionals; at best ignored and at worst directly blamed for causing the eating disorder, despite a total absence of scientific evidence for such a view. As a professional working in the field, I was saddened and ashamed to hear of her experiences, and hope that things are changing for the better.

In later chapters, Gráinne writes of 'the parent's dilemma', the difficult balance parents have to make between supporting their eating disordered child and standing up for their own needs and rights and those of the rest of the family. There are no easy answers here, but by highlighting the dilemmas, as well as describing the intense frustration and anger which can result, she has done much to help other parents see that they are not alone. She also gives very practical suggestions of ways to manage to continue with family life despite the ravages of anorexia and bulimia, as well as suggesting simple stress management techniques which carers can try.

The final section of the book consists of appendices addressing definitions of eating disorders, areas of family life affected by an eating disorder, excerpts from carers stories and links between eating disorders and addictive behaviours. As she points out, the field of additions is somewhat further ahead than eating disorders in understanding the ways in which carers can become enmeshed with the addicted person and discovering how carers can support the addict without unintentionally colluding with the addictive behaviour.

In Britain, carers of all kinds have for a long time been neglected and unsupported. This is despite the fact that unpaid carers (such as family members) are estimated to save the government £34 billion per year. However, this situation is gradually changing, and important steps include the National Strategy for Carers and the National Service Framework for Mental Health which aims to improve services offered to carers such as the right to their own assessments and the opportunity to receive respite. This book is an important contribution to such a changing climate.

The book is available in the UK and US in two formats; the standard paperback and a 'digital download' version.

For more information and to order, click on the relevant link:
Paperback version from Amazon.co.uk
Digital download version from Amazon.co.uk

Paperback version from Amazon.com
Digital download version from Amazon.com

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