Running on Empty: A Diary of Anorexia and Recovery

by Carrie Arnold

One young woman's account of her descent into and ultimate struggle out of anorexia. This is an unflinching look into her severe eating disorder; she writes objectively about the madness of anorexia even as she lives within its grasp. A must read for those who suffer from severe eating disorders as well as anyone who has a loved one suffering from it.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Psychology

184 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2004

Reviews

[Liralen]

I missed my old life, and the only way to find my way back was to close my eyes, grit my teeth, and gain the weight. I didn't have to like it. I just had to do it. (page 143)

The author says early on that what sets her book apart from other memoirs on the topic is that she talks not only about being sick but about how she got better. I'm not sure this is entirely true -- she does talk about getting better, but the focus is still on anorexia rather than recovery. I get the impression that she was still finding her footing as a writer, and while I found the book intensely quotable, there's still an identification with illness that's hard to shake. She's nuanced about it, though, recognising that identification.

I had a tough time finding this one, and her more recent stuff is both easier to find and more complex. Not a standout, then, but at least well done and, again, quotable.

[Janine Darragh]

When I put 4 stars, it's not that I really liked it, but that I think it is a harrowing, horrifying, realistic depiction of the complexity of the diseases anorexia, bulemia, and OCD. I also appreciated the doctor's note at the beginning, the extensive bibliography at the end, the author's admission that she is still on her recovery journey, and her hopes that this book would not read like a manual for others struggling with the disease. I think this would be a wonderful text to use as a case study for discussion for counselors-in-training.

[Rachel]

It was a good book but, like another reviewer said, there seemed to be a lot of fillers, especially at the end. It doesn't cover recovery a whole lot though, because she has a lot of relapses, but then again, that's the nature of AN.

[Roanne]

Local girl and Marya Hornbacher wanna-be. I wanted to like this more, but why do most of these books dissolve into a platitudes?

[Erica]

About 25 pages too long. That was filler to make this book long enough to publish.

[Lana Hayner]

I didn't want to put this book down. I really felt the author's struggles while reading.