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The Mirror Lied: One woman's 25-year struggle with bulimia, anorexia, diet pill addiction, laxative abuse and cutting.
Before she turned twenty, Jessica Gordon was raped by the woman entrusted to protect her and nearly killed by her brother, but those events paled in comparison to the life-and-death struggles she faced for the next twenty-five years. In Dr. Marc A. Zimmer and N.R. Mitgang's powerful biography, "The Mirror Lied," readers of all ages and interests will find this narrative spellbinding. Told in Jessica's voice, and based on extensive interviews with her, the authors reveal one woman's lifetime of pain and struggle. Woven throughout this story is important information about the habits and motivations of those trapped in the world of eating disorders, as well as assessments to help readers determine if they, or someone they love, suffer an eating disorder. Whether readers are physicians, psychotherapists or academics, teenagers or parents, this is a story that must be read.
328 pages, Paperback
Published February 8, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 26, 2019
Oy. This book is terrible. It's a true story about a woman named Jessica Gordon. Told in the first person, aka through Jessica's eyes, it's not actually written by her. Instead it's written by several therapists who treated her. So the writing is ABYSMAL. There's a reason you men are doctors and not of the creative type! The conversations between Jessica and friends/family are so weak and obviously fabricated, I felt like skipping over them because it was just easier to read the facts as presented rather than a poor attempt at dialogue. There are also little annoyances, like the authors' overuse of the phrase "Wake up, Jessica!" For every single moment when Jessica is depicted as confused or blissfully unaware, some random character will try to shake her into reality by exclaiming, "Wake up, Jessica!" It's laughable. The writing shit storm aside, Jessica's story is interesting...but again, the writers do the best they can to turn her into the least likeable protagonist ever born. Jessica is clearly mentally ill, but the authors/therapists have her come across as a whiny, jealous, attention-seeking child who merely copies the destructive behaviors of others - including her own preteen daughter - in order to get attention, making her seem more like she is just a brat rather than has a serious disorder. Plenty of other BETTER books about this topic exist. I'd suggest seeking them out before coming anywhere near this piece of garbage.
August 1, 2012
I thought the cover of this book was interesting, and then I saw that it was about a woman who is not a teen or twenty-something with an eating disorder and that made me even more curious about it.
Well, the short review of this book is that it sucks. I was written about an actual woman and in first person, but it wasn't written by her, but some doctors. They may be able to write in scholarly journals or case studies, but they don't have a flair for narrative. There were many issues that I could pick on, but the two that bothered me most were the word choice and editing errors.
The words that the protagonist used were just not realistic. It read as though the doctors were speaking through her, which was irritating. And when the characters talked to each other, it didn't flow the way dialogue tends to do.
The editing errors bother me when I see more than two in a published work. There were several in this one, mostly left out words or typos.
There are much better works out there to read that concern this topic. I wouldn't waste my time with this one or another from this author.
Well, the short review of this book is that it sucks. I was written about an actual woman and in first person, but it wasn't written by her, but some doctors. They may be able to write in scholarly journals or case studies, but they don't have a flair for narrative. There were many issues that I could pick on, but the two that bothered me most were the word choice and editing errors.
The words that the protagonist used were just not realistic. It read as though the doctors were speaking through her, which was irritating. And when the characters talked to each other, it didn't flow the way dialogue tends to do.
The editing errors bother me when I see more than two in a published work. There were several in this one, mostly left out words or typos.
There are much better works out there to read that concern this topic. I wouldn't waste my time with this one or another from this author.
November 12, 2013
This book is told from the POV of an anorexic bulimic, but was written by two doctors. The disclaimer at the beginning of the book states that it's taken from a true life story of one of their patients.
However, I think the voice of the narrator doesn't come through until about 7/10th of the way through the book. Whether deliberately or by choice, the stunted writing, the repetition of concepts and sometimes the exact same language (Jess often repeats herself to us, the readers). It gets old quickly. Also, the almost superheroic status of Jess' husband is thrown up against the fact that he doesn't ask or get angry or upset about her eating disorder until very close to the end of the book. I felt like the authors went overboard in showing a stereotype of the "great guy".
Overall, I learned things about anorexia and other eating disorders that I didn't know, but I couldn't identify with any of the characters in the novel. The writing was stilted and uneven, smoothing out toward the end.
However, I think the voice of the narrator doesn't come through until about 7/10th of the way through the book. Whether deliberately or by choice, the stunted writing, the repetition of concepts and sometimes the exact same language (Jess often repeats herself to us, the readers). It gets old quickly. Also, the almost superheroic status of Jess' husband is thrown up against the fact that he doesn't ask or get angry or upset about her eating disorder until very close to the end of the book. I felt like the authors went overboard in showing a stereotype of the "great guy".
Overall, I learned things about anorexia and other eating disorders that I didn't know, but I couldn't identify with any of the characters in the novel. The writing was stilted and uneven, smoothing out toward the end.
July 16, 2016
This is a very thorough and detailed memoir of addiction, beginning with the narrator’s early childhood trauma and continuing right into her middle age when her own children were in their teens and she experienced addiction from the point of view of a parent. As such, it provides a very rounded take on anorexia, bulimia, laxative abuse and cutting. I found it both shocking and fascinating.
What I particularly appreciated about this book was the close attention given to interviews and discussions with medical professionals. Obviously, this was made possible by the fact that one of the authors is a medical professional. Jessica herself comes across as a devious and challenging patient. The book is ultimately a celebration of good doctors.
What I particularly appreciated about this book was the close attention given to interviews and discussions with medical professionals. Obviously, this was made possible by the fact that one of the authors is a medical professional. Jessica herself comes across as a devious and challenging patient. The book is ultimately a celebration of good doctors.
December 20, 2013
Loved the refreshing perspective of an adult woman suffering from the control issues of ED's starting later in life. Dead on. Hated the end. Thirty years of struggle wrapped up un fuve pages, a muracke drug, and a complete recovery? If only it was so easy. Oh, and the miracle drug (Topamax)...my psychiatrist only uses it for her patients that need to lose weight since that is the biggest side effect. Did a pharma company sponsor this book???
January 20, 2013
Read this book for school. Really enjoyed the book and how it seemed to get to about he issues with eating disorders
November 25, 2012
This book was full of cliché and was poorly written. The last 25% really was downhill.
July 28, 2020
Just...mental. Totally insane. I don't mean for that to sound disrespectful to the woman this book is about, but it's just a whole different kind of crazy to anything I have any experience with. I've had a full blown nervous breakdown; a psychotic break complete with audio & visual hallucinations...but this book described the kind of reality I can't even begin to comprehend. This woman absolutely tortured herself. She endured a helluva lot of bad stuff that obviously led to her 25 year battle with various forms of self-harm, but I think at the end she made it out okay. Hard to know, because she had about 13 years in-between her first round of in-patient treatment for disordered eating and the second; and I think this book is about 15 years old. So for all we know she may have relapsed at some point. But wherever she is, I really hope that both her and her absolute star of a husband are doing well. They definitely deserve some peacefully, uneventful years to grow old together.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews