Gaining

Aimee Liu's memoir Solitaire, America's first first- person account of a young woman's battle with anorexia, was published in 1979. At the time, she thought her battle was over, but a relapse in 2000 prompted her to reinvestigate the subject. Now, three decades after her initial recovery, Liu shares her story and those of her peers who are still struggling to understand the role anorexia and bulimia have played in their lives. Combining personal interviews with cutting-edge research on the origins and course of eating disorders, Liu shatters many commonly held notions about these diseases. Societal pressure, popular culture, and family dysfunction cannot "make" one anorexic; it takes a particular genetic predisposition and temperament. Readers will learn who is susceptible to eating disorders and why, how these diseases can waste sufferers' lives in ways that have nothing to do with food or weight, and why recovery requires more than good nutrition. Both instructive and emotionally powerful, Liu's narrative is destined to be a classic in the field of eating disorders.