Book Review: Distorted

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Eating Disorders. Eating Disorders are potentially life-threatening neurotic conditions characterized by severe disturbances in eating habits that involve insufficient or excessive food intake. Tricia Greaves is the Official Guide to Eating Disorders.

Distorted: How a Mother and Daughter Unraveled the Truth, the Lies, and the Realities of an Eating Disorder, by Lorri Antosz Benson and Taryn Leigh Benson, is a valuable resource for people interested in Eating Disorders, and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Book Description

For the first time, a mother and daughter tell both sides of an eating disorder struggle. In an era when weight and eating issues are more prominent than ever, Distorted brings the causes, impact, and struggle for resolution and recovery involved with the anorexia and bulimia into sharp relief. Benson and her daughter Taryn each tell their sides of the story, illustrating the psychological issues that underlined the beginning and spread of the disease, the therapies, and programs they struggled with, the consequences the disease had on their family life and emotional health, and, ultimately, the significant consequences and responsibilities that evolved as Taryn reached adulthood. In this revealing back-and-forth telling of a story, Lorri and Taryn Benson reveal the difficult journey they traveled toward health for their family, for themselves, and for their relationship. They demonstrate the many mistakes and misconceptions they each had to face throughout the progress of the disease. And in the end, they explain how that journey was resolved through loving communication and an ability to take responsibility for their own lives.

Publisher Description

In an epidemic culture of disordered eating, this is the first book to provide both sides of the story: alternating mother-daughter perspectives on one teen's battle with anorexia and bulimia, examining the nitty-gritty relationship dynamics and the many manipulative nuances that personify this misunderstood disease.