192 pages (paperback), '05 (Code: TMD)

In this beautifully-written memoir, Daniel Becker shares the inner world of his mother's anorexia nervosa and its devastating effects on his family. Through the eyes of a child, we witness both the heartbreaking details of his mother's obsession with food and her inability to nourish herself.

The secrecy surrounding the illness—which has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder—creates a shadow over the family that grows bigger over time. As Daniel, his father, and brothers struggle to maintain their loyalty to Mom, they become aware of its impossible grip and their inability to help her. In the end, Daniel must face his own guilt and longing to find his way out of the darkness.

REVIEWS. . .
"Daniel Becker's haunting memoir gripped me from the first pages. It is a book of emotional honesty and courage, unique in the literature." –Judith Ruskay Rabinor, PhD, author of A Starving Madness

"This fascinating and deeply troubling account of a child's suffering is the only book of its kind-a rare story told by the son of a mother with anorexia nervosa. There is a kind of silence that resonates from her absences and the lack of discussion about her illness that is chilling." –Richard Gordon, author of Eating Disorders: Anatomy of a Social Epidemic

Read the Fairy Tale - Chapter 2 of This Mean Disease