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A New Name
The face of anorexia is not a glossy model in a perfume ad. It's a starving animal, circling the empty cupboards, blank-eyed and vacant. It's a face frozen in a rictus grin, mouthing lies. 'I'm fine,' it says. 'Everything is under control.' 'I hav
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2012
5 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Emma Scrivener
7 books4 followersEmma Scrivener was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, studied at Oxford University and worked in London. She speaks at national events, counsels those with self-harm issues and blogs at A New Name. Her first book, also A New Name, was shortlisted for a national award. Emma and Glen, an evangelist, live with their young daughter Ruby in Eastbourne, UK.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 16, 2013
I don't suffer from anorexia, so this may seem like a weird read, but Emma is my brother in law's colleague's wife, so he cunningly let me read some of the book when he came to stay recently. Just enough to make me want to read more, of course! He knows I'm a fast reader, so it only came out on the last evening so I couldn't get it all done.
This is pretty harrowing stuff, and left me feeling desperately sad for the long term consequences Emma has from her long battle, but also glad that she's on the way up. Emma and her husband are Christians, and their faith is central to the story, which is really about God's grace.
This is pretty harrowing stuff, and left me feeling desperately sad for the long term consequences Emma has from her long battle, but also glad that she's on the way up. Emma and her husband are Christians, and their faith is central to the story, which is really about God's grace.
December 21, 2023
A remarkable testimony filled with gospel truth. From her own story, Emma is able to point remarkably clearly at the heart problems of sick suffering sinners. A lesson for how to discern what's going on in our own hearts and a model of what true transformation looks like.
June 20, 2014
The best autobiography I've read on anorexia to date. Emma articulates her thoughts with such clarity and raw honesty. She does not try to "sugar coat" her experience, but just tells it as it is. Deep calls to deep.. this book is a testimony of the restoration God can do in our deepest hurts, shame, pain, guilt, sorrows.. you name it.
She goes beyond giving an account of her experience with AN - For example, Emma's conceptualisation of anorexia as a spiritual problem is an exemplary model; and her arguments on what constitutes "true recovery" really challenges the approach mainstream mental health services are taking.
On top of that, the deep and clear grasp Emma has on what the Gospel is (in the last two chapters) is something this world really needs. Honestly, I don't think she would have come to that level of understanding if she did not experience such deep sorrows and suffering.
Highly recommended, regardless of whether your life has or has not been touched by anorexia.
Bless you and thank you Emma for your courage and heart for God that led you to write this book.. please keep writing! :)
She goes beyond giving an account of her experience with AN - For example, Emma's conceptualisation of anorexia as a spiritual problem is an exemplary model; and her arguments on what constitutes "true recovery" really challenges the approach mainstream mental health services are taking.
On top of that, the deep and clear grasp Emma has on what the Gospel is (in the last two chapters) is something this world really needs. Honestly, I don't think she would have come to that level of understanding if she did not experience such deep sorrows and suffering.
Highly recommended, regardless of whether your life has or has not been touched by anorexia.
Bless you and thank you Emma for your courage and heart for God that led you to write this book.. please keep writing! :)
February 13, 2013
This is must read for any parent, not because your children will become anorexic but to show the pit falls of life as a teenager. Emma has written a true and honest account of how she feels about herself; the determination to reach her goal even though it nearly killed her.
Shame is the hidden sin that takes away the hope of recovery, of being accepted as you are: imperfect, odd, abnormal, too fat, too tall, stupid, slow, I could go on about how we all feel inadequate about ourselves. Emma tells us how, with the grace of God, she finds hope again; how through her faith in Jesus Christ she recovers one day at a time. He accepts us for who we are, after all, He made us and loves us just as we are.
Shame is the hidden sin that takes away the hope of recovery, of being accepted as you are: imperfect, odd, abnormal, too fat, too tall, stupid, slow, I could go on about how we all feel inadequate about ourselves. Emma tells us how, with the grace of God, she finds hope again; how through her faith in Jesus Christ she recovers one day at a time. He accepts us for who we are, after all, He made us and loves us just as we are.
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September 14, 2018
After some thought, I've decided that it would be unfair of me to rate A New Name. When I bought it, I was at a secondhand book sale, as part of a fundraiser for The Cat and Rabbit Rescue Centre, surrounded by a lot of - let's say, to be polite - people with no concept of personal space. My anxiety was firing like crazy and I grabbed it after a mere glance so as to get back outside. Had I noticed the Christian focus, I would never have bought it.
Although there are heavy religious tones (which for me dulled the message), from a non-religious perspective, Emma Scrivener still has some useful things to say. Some of her phrases and comments on how it feels to have an eating disorder rang true, correlating with some of my own feelings and experiences of ED over the last twenty or so years. I'm glad she found the push to change and was honest about the ongoing journey that is recovery. I only wish that I could take something further from this book. With no likelihood of heaven sent epiphany coming my way, I don't feel that I learned anything from the read which ultimately is what I'm looking for in any ED book.
May 30, 2020
Honest, emotional, suffering and the amazing Grace of God.
July 27, 2014
A New Name is the brilliantly written and harrowing story of Emma Scrivener’s battle with anorexia. Anorexia promises life, but has death as a side effect. It is about control, but it constantly spirals dangerously out of control. And why am I reviewing the book here? Because we don’t preach to lives lived in the so-called bubble of Bible school. We preach to lives lived in the self-contradictory world that Emma describes here.
Emma offers more than just a window into the turmoil and thinking of anorexia. She also offers great theological insight into the motivations driving apparently insane behaviours. Actually, she does a great job of grappling with what it is to be human. And with more than just great writing ability, she offers crystal clear perspective on the rich fullness of the gospel. As the NHS might try to shame a patient into recovery, so a poor gospel presentation might try to shame a sinner into repentance. But the gospel is the need of the broken heart, for sin is the problem that traditional medicine can never cure.
Emma’s story isn’t just an insight into teenage anorexia. A decade later she relapsed. Now we are talking about a university student, or a young married lady with no apparent reason for such internal struggles. There may be several in your church and you wouldn’t know it. But that is part of why I recommend this book. If we are to preach the real gospel to real people, then we need to know what that reality can look like. Emma paints a self-portrait you won’t want to miss.
“For centuries, Christian thinkers have spoken of our will as being ‘bound’. They don’t mean that we’re robots and can’t do what we want. It’s a deeper imprisonment than this. The bondage of the will means that we only do what we want. We follow our desires all the way to the basement – and then we lock the door. That’s our slavery.”
You won’t want to put this book down. Actually, you’ll want to give it away, but also read it again. You will want to preach the gospel more effectively to the complex people hiding before you on Sunday. More than that, you’ll want to spend more time with the Christ who knows how to be the master physician for all life’s messes.
Originally reviewed on www.biblicalpreaching.net
Emma offers more than just a window into the turmoil and thinking of anorexia. She also offers great theological insight into the motivations driving apparently insane behaviours. Actually, she does a great job of grappling with what it is to be human. And with more than just great writing ability, she offers crystal clear perspective on the rich fullness of the gospel. As the NHS might try to shame a patient into recovery, so a poor gospel presentation might try to shame a sinner into repentance. But the gospel is the need of the broken heart, for sin is the problem that traditional medicine can never cure.
Emma’s story isn’t just an insight into teenage anorexia. A decade later she relapsed. Now we are talking about a university student, or a young married lady with no apparent reason for such internal struggles. There may be several in your church and you wouldn’t know it. But that is part of why I recommend this book. If we are to preach the real gospel to real people, then we need to know what that reality can look like. Emma paints a self-portrait you won’t want to miss.
“For centuries, Christian thinkers have spoken of our will as being ‘bound’. They don’t mean that we’re robots and can’t do what we want. It’s a deeper imprisonment than this. The bondage of the will means that we only do what we want. We follow our desires all the way to the basement – and then we lock the door. That’s our slavery.”
You won’t want to put this book down. Actually, you’ll want to give it away, but also read it again. You will want to preach the gospel more effectively to the complex people hiding before you on Sunday. More than that, you’ll want to spend more time with the Christ who knows how to be the master physician for all life’s messes.
Originally reviewed on www.biblicalpreaching.net
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August 19, 2015What a start, already got to P 40, Missing person it was so sad that Emma hadn't met Jesus. I am not sure if the start date was changed am well on my way to finishing this wonderful book even though the tears have welled up quite a number of times, I have opened the book back at P 78 " I'd brought a plague upon our house --It was just us battling against the world. Just us, battling against one another." It was assumed that if I put weight on, everything would be fine! At this point I found myself thinking what I would have done if I had been involved as a professional. I have made myself some comments so that I can write a review for the church magazine.
August 22, 2017
In thia book anorexia nervosa is revealed to be a deadly and devastating condition from the inside. Emma Scrivener unlocks her descent into the grip of the disease and helpfully reveals a context. It did not happen overnight but over years of intense creativity, confusion over the painful circumstances of this life, perfectionism, feeling and being made to feel like a misfit among peers. In Emma all of this was coupled with a desire to halt the emergence of adulthood with its bodily and emotional changes. Emma's performance driven motivations even ran towards her fledgling Christianity making her want to be 'good' enough to please God.
From this book I see the complexity and multifaceted nature. I feel the pain of an immensely bright young woman who was introspective and wanted to understand so much throughout her life but drew many false conclusions and tried to problem-solve from this basis. I see the tyranny of trying to be good, through Emma's eyes. She, like many of us, was living in constant fear and as she portrays it an insatiable hunger for more.
In the midst of her messy, confused and disoriented life she interacts with many people
From this book I see the complexity and multifaceted nature. I feel the pain of an immensely bright young woman who was introspective and wanted to understand so much throughout her life but drew many false conclusions and tried to problem-solve from this basis. I see the tyranny of trying to be good, through Emma's eyes. She, like many of us, was living in constant fear and as she portrays it an insatiable hunger for more.
In the midst of her messy, confused and disoriented life she interacts with many people
June 26, 2017
A short book, providing a refreshingly honest perspective on the experience of anorexia, it's long-term implications for physical health, and some of the factors that have been important to the author in recovery. Not at all like the many 'air-brushed' or 'shock' narratives out there - hardly a mention of food/numbers ('how to be an anorexic' type stuff) etc. and much more of an emphasis on the emotional and psychological experiences of the author, and the role that faith, vulnerability and trust have played in her process of learning to heal. She additionally provides an interesting take on the role of hunger (in the broader sense, not just for food) in her experience of anorexia - personally I found this compelling. In that context, I was also interested to reflect that her depiction of experiences do not appear fit well with neuropsychological models of individuals with anorexia being reward insensitive at a trait level (I have a bit of a bias in this respect however).
May 30, 2020
It's hard to write a review that does this book justice. It is so helpful in understanding the struggles, thoughts and feelings of someone who may be suffering with mental health problems, written very personally. It is about finding hope through these problems by looking outside of yourself and meeting Jesus in the midst of the darkness. Very emotional in part, but a great read and such an encouragement.
May 14, 2018
I’d followed Emma’s blog for ages and been recommended her book by many friends when at uni. I finally got my hands on a copy and her story of what anorexia did to her body and relationships, and then ultimately (spoiler!) the grace of God in meeting with her amidst it and bringing some healing was well worth reading and very insightful.
November 26, 2020
Appreciated the message of this book. I felt it could have been better expressed like as an extended article rather than a book. But that is not to take anything away from the beauty of what is being conveyed. The core message of this book is why I would recommend it, even if you cannot relate to Emma, you can still apply her lessons to your own circumstances in life.
March 15, 2021
An incredibly honest memoir of the author’s experience with anorexia and the hope the Gospel brings. I found it a very helpful insight into eating disorders and some of the deep-rooted factors that are often at play.
October 7, 2025
A privilege to read Emma’s story. She articulated what was going on for her so well, and that was really helpful to have an insight into. Laughed, cried, and was helped by the read. Thanks Emma (and God!)
August 31, 2018
A very insightful and well written book. Sometimes it felt a little disorganized but that may be more of a personal preference.
May 7, 2021
A beautifully written and compelling testimony
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August 15, 2021Thankful that Jesus came, offered me Himself and saved me from 'the way that... leads to death' (Proverbs 14:12).
August 22, 2021
Incredible.
September 25, 2021
a read that tests the brain, makes you question your mental health career, eventually decide to keep at it anyway, and keeps you hoping that everyone will get to know jesus
November 11, 2021
A brilliantly deep look into the thoughts behind eating disorders and what God has to say to them, one of the best books on this topic I’ve ever heard of, a huge personal blessing to me
February 6, 2024
As someone who is also in recovery from an eating disorder, I valued and appreciated hearing and reading from someone who also lost their identity.
April 6, 2024
refreshing in its realness and how it directs you to the Savior. the only one who can heal our brokenness and give us a New Name.
November 22, 2024
Incredible 🩷 very gospel centred and gets to the heart of shame
March 26, 2025
Beautiful, honest and brave.
August 25, 2019
This is a book about anorexia. But that’s too simple. It’s a book about the search for identity and meaning. It’s about how we forge these things for ourselves, exercising our control to create our own identity. It’s about how these efforts are driven by desperation and distorted by lostness and shame. And how lies seem like convenient tools to manage our deeper struggles but ultimately become snares that trap us, stranding us as imposters who struggle alone.
The book itself is a 1st person account - one woman’s journey - one that carries a sense of desperate urgency. It was so moving that I couldn’t put it down. I devoured this book in 3 sittings. And even though I learned about anorexia (which is not my struggle) I feel that my struggles were exposed by it.
I encourage you to read this book. Let it expose your lies to the truth of the Gospel. Through it I hope you’ll learn to trust the glorious Gospel just that little bit more. And as a church that we might learn to be the safe place where we can each “out” that imposter self for our true self. Together let’s learn to embrace our new name...
The book itself is a 1st person account - one woman’s journey - one that carries a sense of desperate urgency. It was so moving that I couldn’t put it down. I devoured this book in 3 sittings. And even though I learned about anorexia (which is not my struggle) I feel that my struggles were exposed by it.
I encourage you to read this book. Let it expose your lies to the truth of the Gospel. Through it I hope you’ll learn to trust the glorious Gospel just that little bit more. And as a church that we might learn to be the safe place where we can each “out” that imposter self for our true self. Together let’s learn to embrace our new name...
November 26, 2013
This is an outstanding autobiographical book. The writing style is eloquently honest: she writes about her war with anorexia candidly but without cliche or self-absorption. There is an honesty here with which she looks at what is arguably the heart or root issue of anorexia -- the promise of powerful control that ends up proving deceitful.
Scrivener is a Christian and knowing this may dissuade some readers -- and this would be a shame. Why?
First, because her take on some of the core dynamics of eating disorders and self-harm is not a million miles off from that of some secular writers I have read. There is a common ground. Second, she is not reductionistic and, so, avoids any simplistic prescription: there is no "here are the five steps to recovery". Third, as she addresses issues of identity, image, and human longings she deftly manages to include all of us, even those of us not specifically facing the horrors of anorexia. As one other reviewer expressed it, "I am not anorexic but she has written my story". Fourth, and she would most likely cringe if she read this, she is not a Christian weirdo. Her honesty is both disturbingly winsome and disarmingly inviting. I imagine many readers could say, 'I may not totally agree with her but I wouldn't mind buying her a coffee so to hear more from her.' As she narrates she ends up pointing away from herself and instead movingly speaks of The One who is stunningly gracious and intensely powerful to rescue.
I anticipate sharing this book with those battling eating disorders and self-harm. This book may also be an insightful resource for those who live and love someone in the midst of anorexia. At the same time, this little book may also be a huge help to individuals who ache and are too easily mislead by the deceitful siren calls of our age -- in other words, all of us.
Scrivener is a Christian and knowing this may dissuade some readers -- and this would be a shame. Why?
First, because her take on some of the core dynamics of eating disorders and self-harm is not a million miles off from that of some secular writers I have read. There is a common ground. Second, she is not reductionistic and, so, avoids any simplistic prescription: there is no "here are the five steps to recovery". Third, as she addresses issues of identity, image, and human longings she deftly manages to include all of us, even those of us not specifically facing the horrors of anorexia. As one other reviewer expressed it, "I am not anorexic but she has written my story". Fourth, and she would most likely cringe if she read this, she is not a Christian weirdo. Her honesty is both disturbingly winsome and disarmingly inviting. I imagine many readers could say, 'I may not totally agree with her but I wouldn't mind buying her a coffee so to hear more from her.' As she narrates she ends up pointing away from herself and instead movingly speaks of The One who is stunningly gracious and intensely powerful to rescue.
I anticipate sharing this book with those battling eating disorders and self-harm. This book may also be an insightful resource for those who live and love someone in the midst of anorexia. At the same time, this little book may also be a huge help to individuals who ache and are too easily mislead by the deceitful siren calls of our age -- in other words, all of us.
October 13, 2015
Finished reading this in a single sitting over about 3 hours. Was initially hesitant to read this for fear that I was either (a) eating disordered or (b) wanting to be so. I think I only found the courage to read this after a (mentally strong/healthy) friend shared that she has a copy & enjoyed it.
Enter Kindle.
So glad to have read this in the end - Emma doesn't sugarcoat her experience, yet at the same time she does not indulge in a self-deprecating manner either. This is honest & raw, & a good balance of life on this side of earth with gospel perspectives. Some people would dislike the Christian overtones in what is meant to be an account of an eating disordered life (but it is published by a Christian publisher, I think), others would wish it was more forthcoming, the gospel isn't something to be ashamed about. I like this subtlety though heheh. :-)
#January2015
Enter Kindle.
So glad to have read this in the end - Emma doesn't sugarcoat her experience, yet at the same time she does not indulge in a self-deprecating manner either. This is honest & raw, & a good balance of life on this side of earth with gospel perspectives. Some people would dislike the Christian overtones in what is meant to be an account of an eating disordered life (but it is published by a Christian publisher, I think), others would wish it was more forthcoming, the gospel isn't something to be ashamed about. I like this subtlety though heheh. :-)
#January2015
January 24, 2017
So thankful for Emma's vulnerability & bravery in sharing her story. Her voice and her story are captivating (I read her book in one evening!) She skillfully and transparently captures the complexity of an eating disorder - the familial, cultural, experiential, spiritual, and personal factors that all have a part in the development of anorexia.
She humbly takes responsibility for her self-destructive behavior, while also showing grace for all the ways she was hurt by individuals and bruised by the darkness of life. Unlike many stories of anorexia, Emma's story is one of HOPE and redemption. She beautifully shares her faith in Christ, but does so in a personal and gentle way that is readable for those who don't share her faith. As a fellow struggler with anorexic behaviors, I highly recommend Emma's book!
She humbly takes responsibility for her self-destructive behavior, while also showing grace for all the ways she was hurt by individuals and bruised by the darkness of life. Unlike many stories of anorexia, Emma's story is one of HOPE and redemption. She beautifully shares her faith in Christ, but does so in a personal and gentle way that is readable for those who don't share her faith. As a fellow struggler with anorexic behaviors, I highly recommend Emma's book!
September 9, 2012
A harrowing story of grace.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews