THE EATING DISORDER TRAP

A manual examines eating disorders and their treatments.

As Goldberg points out in her comprehensive new book, eating disorders are not only debilitating and dangerous, but also require expensive therapies and remain poorly explored in the medical field. She relates that current estimates reveal that eating disorders are either rising or being increasingly diagnosed, with the number of cases doubling “worldwide from 2013-2018 as compared to 2000-2006.” To begin her discussion on the disorders, the author first situates her topic in the broader landscape, reminding her readers that everybody needs fuel, and for some people, this simple requirement is infinitely complicated. “While many view eating as a recreational activity and a deserved pleasure,” she writes, “for some, it is seen as a scary experience and far from enjoyable.” Goldberg takes her readers through the basics, identifying the different types of eating disorders and their symptoms. The author then moves on to explain related issues, such as malnutrition and the strain it can place on the heart and many other organs and dehydration and its attendant complications. In short chapters appealingly illustrated by Baechle, Goldberg explains to her readers the anatomy, biology, and psychology of all aspects of eating disorders, simplifying and skillfully clarifying everything along the way. And refreshingly, all of this is presented in warm and supportive prose designed to give some encouragement to sufferers. “It is possible,” the author asserts, “to get out from under the thumb of an eating disorder or diet culture if only we become more educated in separating fact from fiction around the beliefs we learn from diet culture.” Readers who suffer from an eating disorder—or those who have loved ones who do—will find Goldberg’s book invaluable.

A useful, inviting, and all-inclusive guide to eating disorders.