Confessions of a Failed Anorexic

by Michelle Cantrell

Sarah Thompson went on her first diet when she was seven years old, and has been on a dieting roller coaster ever since. Longing for what she doesn’t have, the unfulfilled stay-at-home mom goes on a journey of self discovery tainted by the pursuit of a perfect body. An unlikely friendship with fun-loving and thin-obsessed Stacy Vargus leads Sarah down a path she believes will bring her closer to a world she has spent a lifetime chasing, only to realize it doesn’t exist. An unexpected reunion with an old friend unleashes a passion for life Sarah had long forgotten, giving her a new lens through which to view her world.This debut novel by Michelle Cantrell offers an entertaining twist on keeping up with the Joneses while revealing the dangers of losing oneself to the superficial status symbols of suburban life.

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2011

Reviews

[Furciferous Quaintrelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was a load of balls. I went on an e-book purchasing spree recently; just one-click buying with far too much ease on Amazon. I took it upon myself to browse through the section on mental health and bought a load of titles about mental illness, the history of diagnoses, psychiatric medications, memoirs of therapists, addiction, the opiate epidemic and a few on eating disorders. This book fell into that last category.

Having read Marya Hornbacher's 'Wasted' many years ago, I've long been fascinated by the insane torture that eating disordered people will visit upon themselves. I've never had an eating disorder. Never starved myself, never made myself sick etc, so it really is an 'unknown country' of some sort to me. I don't know what exactly I was expecting when I bought this one...maybe something of an insight into the mind of a person suffering from an eating disorder? Something honest, eye-opening, informative? But I obviously hadn't read the whole description of this one, because it's not actually a real life account of someone with anorexia or bulimia. It's fiction. And not very good fiction at that.

It really didn't take me long to read - finished it in a day - and it wasn't at all challenging. Well, as long as you don't count the frustratingly simplistic prose, multiple typos, lack of any real plot and completely uninteresting/unlikable characters. It's just some back and forth ramblings of a 37 year old woman who says she's fat, compares herself to her female neighbours and recalls being put on diets when she was younger by a mother who thinks she's fat. She befriends some irredeemable harridan who is an alcoholic/bulimic/exercise freak and copies her insane workouts & restricted diet until she loses 29 pounds.

There's a bit where they go on a girl's weekend to Vegas and behave like trollops and then a weirdly abrupt ending, where nothing goes anywhere. That was it. Total load of old balls. I only carried on reading it because it was fairly short, easy to read and I really don't like to DNF a book if I can help it. I like to at least be able to say everything that was awful about a book before I give it a bad review, lol. I've given it two stars, but in reality it's more of a one and a half. Nothing insightful, no beautiful prose, no interesting quotes, just a load of twatwaffle from beginning to end. It only cost me 99p though, so nothing really lost.

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hesitate to give this book even just the one star because it was the most pointless thing I have ever read. It was difficult to keep picking back up due to the fact that there was no real story. I pretty much slogged through it on principle. The first thing I thought when I got the end was, "Was she a failed anorexic because she preferred bulimia?" I mean, really, after all those pages of nonsense, non sequitors, and nothing, there was no relief at being done. It just was what it was. I don't quite know if it was supposed to be a memoir with names and situations changed to protect the guilty or a purely fictitious account, but Sarah Thompson is the worst protagonist I've come across since Bella Swan. The writing and editing left much to be desired. It really felt as though the author just forgot what she was doing halfway through a line. One second, Sarah said someone's name at least three times in the preceding paragraph and then suddenly she didn't know what the person's name was in the next; I'm 97% certain that her maiden name changed from one chapter to the next, but I didn't even care enough to go back and see. And for the love of God, Michelle Cantrell, discrete means separate and apart; discreet (the word you're actually looking for) means judicious and circumspect. I suppose the only saving grace was that it was free. But, oh Amazon, please choose your self-pubs with a little more discernment.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this book, based on the title, I thought that this book would be one that I could relate too. But the book turned out completely different than I had thought it would go. The ending was very suprising in the loss of Sara's friend. Also when some one complains of being overweight and fat and having such a struggle with food, I picture an overweight person that is really struggling with their weight. But when I read Sara as being on the verge of being over weight but is still in the "healthy weight" category, I wasn't very impressed. Needless to say, this book was a little disapointing, but overall a good read.

[Jennifer Thompson Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kind of felt like I must have written a book in my sleep and had it published somehow without knowing about it. I can totally relate to Sara in her struggle in weight loss and the tug of war kind of thoughts about food. I thought the ending was a little off but enjoyed it none the less.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ever heard of an editor?

I can look past some typos, though I don't like them, but when a character's last name is changed for no reason within two pages, well, that is unacceptable. Not to mention the writing was just bad. Really bad.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, because it forced me to step back and look in the mirror, no BODY is perfect. fantastic read

[SW! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Hazel McHaffie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this book about anorexia didn't totally focus on the issue.
Stacy and Sarah are drawn together by their preschool daughters’ friendship. Sarah sees everything about Stacy (and most of her friends) as perfect. They are skinny and glossy and beautifully dressed with gorgeous homes and successful husbands. All her life she’s had a complex about being too fat and too unpopular. As a teenager she indulged in too much sex. Now she craves food and wine.
But Stacy helps her lose weight and takes her for retail therapy. Then after a weekend in Las Vegas together Stacy confides that she’s going to leave her husband and her poor marriage; she’s fallen for Jeff whom they met in Las Vegas. The following day Stacy dies of a heart attack while on the treadmill at the gym and Sarah discovers she was anorexic and electrolyte imbalance contributed to her death. She realises suddenly how fortunate she is in her own marriage and her daughter. Thin isn’t everything. (NB. this author has had eating disorders herself.)

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which a frustrated stay-at-home mother learns that losing weight is not the answer. Sarah, the protagonist, is not actually anorexic; like far too many average sized women, she mentally beats herself up about being "fat" and struggles to diet and exercise, unlike her glamorous friend and workout buddy, Stacy. The writing is engaging and Sarah is sympathetic, but--as with many books of this nature--it lacked that extra spark to make it a cohesive work of fiction instead of a series of enjoyable scenes. Even so, I'm rating it three stars because the author successfully captures an "Everywoman" quality in her depiction of Sarah; I could certainly relate to her struggles!

[Jaime Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a deep thought provoking book, this isn't it. If you're looking to be able to relate to someone, not feel alone, and shocked, this is a good read. I bought it because the main character was caddy, and reminded me of me, truthfully speaking. I enjoyed reading it and was shocked at the ending. It definitely encourages one in recovery.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could relate...

this was a great book I could relate to for sure. anyone who is too hard on themselves will get it.
the editing needs a lot to work, many wrong or missing words and wrong punctuation (commas and periods go before quotation marks)!
overall a great chic-lit read.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

All women can relate to the struggles with weight loss/gain.
But my main issue with this book is that I didn't like the characters.
I found it hard to keep reading this book because I didn't care what was going to happen.
It was a pretty predictable and there wasn't anything special about it.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and enjoyable read. It's one of the few eating disorder novels I've come across about an adult sufferer, with a spouse and kid. Though the main character herself doesn't actually have an e.d. (in the DSM-IV-tR definition at least); her friend does.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat predictable but still an entertaining read.

[Lisag702 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funny bits but all together just annoying, with enough typos to really turn me off.

[Ticia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only made it about 40 percent through the book. It was pointless. Boring. Poorly written. Way too many gramatical errors. It was a waste of my time.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book, very quick fun read!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

It held my attention, but the end of the book was so annoying that I can't say I liked it.

[Amber Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was an ok read for a free book on kindle but not one of my favorites because of the content.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay and I identified a lot with the author but I felt the ending was abrupt and rushed. The author came across as if the death of her friend was her cure all

[Raquel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was just "ok"