Product Description

Bright, popular, pretty and successful, Grace Bowman had the world at her feet. So what drove her to starve herself nearly to death at the age of 18? And what, more importantly, made her stop? A grippingly honest account of life with anorexia nervosa, A Shape of My Own is Grace's hearbreaking, shocking and, finally, inspirational memoir. An extraordinary story, it is also a common one - is there a woman in the western world who has a normal relationship with food? A compulsive read, essential for anyone hoping to understand more about eating disorders and overcoming addiction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6592 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
Poignant and timely…the most honest account of the illness yet published (Glamour )

Bowman describes her descent into anorexia with clinical skill; if you haven't understood it before, you will now ... brave, revealing, and shocking (Guardian )

A brilliant new memoir (Sunday Telegraph )

Powerfully written, beautifully articulated, gripping. Bowman emerges as stubborn, brilliant, vulnerable, talented and a superb writer. She has readability by the bucketful (Independent on Sunday )

'Moving … uniquely eloquent … a must-read' Elle 'Dignified [and] lucid ... dedicated to debunking myths' Daily Mail 'A truly memorable account ... Very powerful' **** OK

About the Author
Born in Durham in 1977, Grace Bowman studied English at Queens' College, Cambridge. She now lives in North London. This is her first book.

Customer Reviews

Uncompromising, brutal, selfish and moving
I have never had an eating disorder, never suffered the mental whirring of calculating calories, self-castigation for consumption and the wrenching anxiety from having inadvertently `lost control' and digested fats. I have nether been voluntarily sick following a meal, trying to expel the poisons that I have polluted my body with. But thanks to this book I feel I understand the condition a lot better, and I would recommend the book to anyone who was interested in, concerned about or suffering from anorexia nervosa or any eating disorder.

I came to this book by a recommendation from a psychologist friend. I am writing a book about my own battle with various forms of anxiety, and when I described it she insisted I read this account. This review is intended to provide a review of the book as a standalone work, regardless of how useful it was for my own writing.

Bowman writes with a candid intimacy that is summed up in the opening line. "If I tell you a secret, do you promise to tell the whole world?" It is a very apt and poignant statement - those suffering from mental illness, in all its varying forms and in all their millions upon millions, tend to do so in a void. Afraid to tell anyone else, afraid to confide and completely unsure as to how to cope. Books like Bowman's not only cast light on the subject for the unaware, but are invaluable lifelines for those suffering. Unlike self-help books they don't aim to change or cure. They just give another point of view, a window into another sufferer's experience and the important realisation that you are far from alone.

Bowman's own problems began as a late teen. She was successful and happy, and should have easily coasted into university and on to a comfortable life. Both fortunately and unfortunately she didn't. Unfortunately for all the suffering she has been through and overcome. Fortunately for being able to write about it in a literary, yet accessible way.

The book is not a strict narrative account of the condition. She deviates into entertaining dramatic scripts of supposed encounters, where she reveals the `inner' voice of Grace, the anorexic voice that is urging her to ever greater feats of self-denial and control. She details some of the science and the thinking behind the condition, gives the consideration and intelligent focus that she, as a sufferer, would have subjected herself to.

This book is gritty and uncompromising, although not in the ruthlessly bleak way of a Million Little Pieces. It is alive with self-awareness, but not self-pity. And ultimately it is hopeful. Bowman's survival and subsequent success gives hope to all those who have suffered.

A Shape of my Own
A beautifully written, poignant account of someone struggling not only to come to terms with anorexia but also to find their sense of meaning and centre in the world. Not having experienced anorexia myself, but having been witness to good friends struggling with it, gave me a sensitive and deep insight into what goes on behind hidden doors. The opening line with stay with me forever, and the wonderful ending of hope and recovery brings inspiration to us all. I couldn't put it down.

Touching and insightful
Grace Bowman is to be commended for her honest description of not only the effects of this illness on the sufferer but also on those around them. As an 'ex anorexic'(as she describes herself) too I was both touched and inspired by her story which quite apart from the subject matter is one of the best written books I have read in a very long time. Her style of writing and use of language further illustrate the complexities of an illness usually very difficult to explain but done almost effortlessly by Grace. It is a must read for anyone who is living with, lived through or supports someone who is living with or has lived through Anorexia Nervosa.