About Gürze Books
Leigh and Lindsey Cohn
Photo by David Hall
Gürze Books, LLC is a publishing company that has specialized in eating disorders publications and education since 1980. It is owned by Lindsey Hall and Leigh Cohn, who are married and the authors of the first book on bulimia as well as several others. We are dedicated to serving the entire eating disorders community: individuals who are suffering, their loved ones, the professionals who treat them, and the educators who are working toward prevention.
Gürze was started when Leigh and Lindsey wrote and published Bulimia: A Guide to Recovery, which includes Lindsey's personal story of recovery, questions and answers, and suggestions from hundreds of others who have recovered from bulimia. It is the first book written solely about bulimia and has sold over 150,000 copies—now in a 25th anniversary edition.
Books
We publish quality books by a variety of authors, all of which are related to the topic of eating disorders. If you would like to submit a manuscript for possible publication, please see our Guidelines for Proposal Submissions.
Eating Disorder Resource Catalogue
We also gather books and CDs from over 50 other publishers into a FREE 52-page Eating Disorder Resource Catalogue. Included are the names and addresses of national eating disorders organizations and listings of prominent treatment facilities. More than four million copies of our catalogue have been given away by therapists, support groups, college health and counseling centers, women's resource centers, and at eating disorders conferences and workshops.
Websites
Gurze Books maintains several websites related to eating disorders treatment and recovery:
- Bulimia.com offers hundreds of handpicked books and CDs, a treatment directory, professional resources, contact information for local and national ED organizations, and listings of treatment facilities.
- EatingDisordersReview.com is an enewsletter providing current clinical information for therapists, researchers, nutritionists, educators, and all types of clinicians. It is sent bimonthly by email to subscribers at no cost. Thousands of articles from past issues can be found at the website.
- EatingDisordersRecoveryToday.com is a home for hundreds of inspirational and educational articles written by both leading experts in the field and recovered individuals with valuable experience to share.
- EatingDisordersBlogs.com hosts over 20 bloggers on a variety of eating disorder recovery topics.
About Lindsey and Leigh
Lindsey Hall and Leigh Cohn, who are married and have two grown sons, have been working and writing together since they met in 1977. They are on the Founders Council of the National Eating Disorders Association, and are members of the Academy of Eating Disorders (AED), the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP), the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and other related organizations.
Lindsey is a graduate of Stanford University with a B.A. in Psychology and was the first recovered bulimic to appear on national television. She has co-authored and edited numerous books on eating disorders and given presentations on self-esteem and recovery throughout the United States. From 1990-1992, she also served as Executive Director of Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, currently known as the National Eating Disorders Association.
Leigh, who received an M.A.T. from Northwestern University in English Education, is the co-author of several books on eating disorders as well as the Editor-in-chief of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention (BrunnerRoutledge). He is a past-president of Independent Book Publishers of America (IBPA), formerly known as Publishers Marketing Association (PMA), a non-profit trade association of 3,000 publishing companies throughout the United States. He has been a featured speaker at universities and professional conferences throughout the United States, most recently for his book, Making Weight: Healing Men's Conflicts with Food, Weight, Shape and Appearance. Leigh is also an enthusiastic and talented painter whose work can be viewed at LeighPaintings.com.
Awards
Leigh and Lindsey were given the Lori Irving Award for Excellence in Eating Disorders Prevention and Awareness by the National Eating Disorders Association in 2008 and an Award for Service by the Eating Disorders Coalition in Washington, D.C. in 2005. They both have received the Certified Eating Disorders Specialist designation from the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals.
What does Gürze mean?
"Gürze herself and her boyfriend, Dash 1976"
Gürze is a woman who came to Lindsey in a dream in 1976 when she was fighting a nine-year battle with bulimia. Waking up in the middle of the night, Lindsey wrote down the name, complete with the unusual "ü," and a quick sketch of the woman's appearance on the notepad she kept by her bed. Gürze's loveable face and long legs inspired Lindsey to make a life-sized doll, which was the beginning of a nationwide soft-sculpture business and an integral part of Lindsey's recovery. In a six-year period, over half a million hand-made dolls were sold!
People often ask what Gürze means. Although we don't know for sure, a student of Bavarian dialects once told us that it is a casual greeting, like "hello," which literally translates to, "I greet the God in you." We at Gürze Books like to think that this is true and that our work inspires others to realize their own greatness.
