Making Peace with Your Plate: Eating Disorder Recovery

by Robyn Cruze, Espra Andrus

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Binge-eating disorder (BED) and bulimia can also bring misery and death. Pushing the River, with its unique three-phase approach to eating, smashes the illusion of control, the power, and the lies of this deadly illness, providing a concrete plan for long-term recovery from the disease of disordered eating.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

224 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Christelle Perrig]

It took me almost a year to read this lol...
I don't think that I should rate this.. but it was a necessary read for me and it did help me with some aspects and thoughts that were mentioned in the book but sometimes it was a bit triggering...

[✨ kathryn ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt a little let-down by this book in comparison to Life Without Ed. I felt that the writing was clunky and actually a little triggering at times.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me in more ways than I believed a book could.

[Agatha Glowacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great research and advice

[Maha Althani · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's not triggering. i can relate to so many thoughts and behaviour.Take the good from it and leave the bad

[Hannah Crews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has solid foundational principles, so it’s somewhat useful. If you’re at the beginning of your journey, I recommend, but be warned, some points may make you roll your eyes. Trust the process.

[Meghan McGann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher.

I thought this book was okay - the chapters by Espra Andrus (an eating disorder therapist) were really helpful and had some really useful tips that I could see myself recommending to clients (I am an eating disorder dietitian). But I don't know that I would broadly recommend this book as there are parts that could be triggering for certain people. I also found the lack of acknowledgement of social justice issues, particularly weight stigma and fatphobia, related to eating disorder recovery disappointing. Parts of this book were helpful but other parts seemed to miss the mark a little bit.

[Stacey Rosenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No one tells you that eating disorders are ugly," says Robyn Cruze, co-author of Making Peace with Your Plate: Eating Disorder Recovery . "When I was enmeshed in my eating disorder, I felt the opposite. I believed it would keep me safe and in control, and make me desirable. I thought it would protect me from myself."

So, how does the balance shift for Cruze? Eventually she finds motivation for change in the desire for freedom: "I so desperately wanted to experience life without the shackles of my eating disorder. I wanted to live, not just survive." At one point, Cruze declares: "My need to recover eventually became greater than my need to be thin." In my mind, this one pithy line captures recovery to a tee - almost everyone I've worked with has had a similar type of shift that ultimately drove her toward change.

As part of her journey, Cruze meets Espra Andrus, LCSW, a therapist trained in DBT. Though their time together was brief, Cruze was so moved by their meeting that she sought out Andrus to help her co-write this book. The result is a back-and-forth narrative that alternately captures Cruze's story with Andrus's clinical wisdom.

One of the best aspects to this book is the many exercises that help readers challenge their eating disorder voices with the truth, a common cognitive therapy technique and useful externalization of the eating disorder.
Here's one example:

Eating disorder: "There is no better way to get off of a spinning merry-go-round than to hang out with me."
Truth: It is true that getting lost in eating-disorder thoughts and/or behaviors makes the chaos of things whirling around you disappear. The problem is that the merry-go-round hasn't actually stopped. You just close your eyes."

And another:

Eating disorder: "Honest, I really do help. I number the pain. Numbing pains the secret to life. . . and you need me."
Truth: Yes, your eating disorder serves as a quick fix for hard emotions - before it takes everything from you. And it will take everything from you.

Andrus also provides specific techniques designed to aid in the recovery process. For instance, she encourages readers to make a list of potentially triggering comments from others (e.g., "You've lost some weight, you look good") and then "For each of these triggering words or phrases, write down what you might say, not say, do, or not do, when you hear them, then practice saying your responses out loud." As anyone in recovery can tell you, being prepared for these conversational challenges can go a long way.

Now recovered, Cruze reports: "The true value of recovery is in the process of "checking in" with myself and honoring that voice that longs to be heard and that encourages me to keep moving forward. And with each positive action I take toward this, I secure a little more self-worth from deep within."

What an inspirational definition of recovery. . .

[Cami · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing eating disorder recovery book for me to read bc it is chuck full of effective skills one can take on one's journey toward recovery, it's practical, useable, & was a fairly easy & fast read...(although I plan to re-read it & go through the "Espra" chapters more slowly--taking notes & doing the assignments.)

This book has motivated & inspired me to keep plugging along on my own recovery & has unlocked many, many areas of the disorder I previously wasn't willing to look at or admit I had issues/or a problem with. The illumination on these particular aspects of my own journey are vital if I plan to fully recover.

And one of the biggest lessons I learned was that in order for a full recovery to be possible, I must first have faith & trust the process described in the book--having some sense of belief that it really IS possible to recover (despite what others or the actual illness say), then PLAN/EXPECT to recover (in the umbrella of faith & hope), & then actually DO what is asked of me in the book. There are lots of helpful homework questions & notes that I plan to do/take when I re-read the book. I highly, highly, highly recommend this book to any & all people. There are things one can learn/glean from even if eating disorder information/situations are completely foreign.

Eating disorders are the #1 killer among ALL mental illness including suicide & depression. It stands to reason that we would all benefit from learning about this illness. Chances are most people will personally know someone with an eating disorder. We are all here to help one another...so do your part.

[Jenni Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Robyn is the real deal. If you struggle with an eating disorder, this is a must-read.