336 pg, paper, ‘08

How do anorexia and bulimia impact life AFTER recovery? Gaining is one of the first books about eating disorders to connect the latest scientific insights to the personal truth of life before, during, and especially after anorexia and bulimia. In this book, Amy Liu combines personal interviews with cutting edge research to propose the idea that societal pressure, popular culture, and family dysfunction cannot “make” one anorexic; rather it takes a particular genetic predisposition and temperament. Readers will learn who is susceptible and why recovery requires more than just good nutrition.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Aimee Liu is the author of a groundbreaking account of anorexia nervosa, Solitaire. She has also written three highly acclaimed novels, Flash House, Cloud Mountain and Face. Liu is the former president of PEN West, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. 

REVIEWS:

“The beauty of Aimee's Liu's brilliantly researched book, GAINING: THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE AFTER EATING DISORDERS, is right there in the title. There is life after eating disorders, and Liu writes about that life with unflinching candor, exceptional insight, and remarkable bravery. While much has been written on the devastating effects of the illness itself, Liu gives us a unique and provocative look at recovery, taking away the shame and helping us to "gain" hope and understanding. This is a ground-breaking work that's a must-read for anyone who has struggled with food or weight but didn't quite understand why.”
— Lori Gottlieb, author of Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self

“With uninhibited truthfulness Aimee Liu reveals incidents in her own life which propelled her into anorexia... She believes the greatest asset any of us possess is our own life story and to realize the full power and dimension of this treasure, we have to be willing to tell the whole truth, and courageously, she does so... Gaining lights the way into understanding the root causes and hidden origins of these surprisingly common eating disorders. These origins are not limited to eating disorders, in various degrees they lurk in all of us.
— JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association