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Love You to the Bones
Can love cure an eating disorder?
Mike has always been driven by a passion to create and a need to destroy; this led him to pursue a career as a professional artist while plunging him deep into the grip of anorexia and addiction. Elio is a film student whose previously tumultuous love affair left him with a fear of intimacy. When the two meet, as artist and model at a life-drawing session, they become quickly embroiled in a passionate romance. As they grow closer together, Elio becomes more receptive to love, while Mike begins to question his need for self-starvation.
Will love truly save Mike from his eating disorder? Or will the intoxicating highs and turbulent lows of a relationship only drive him further into his mental illness?
Drawing directly from the author’s personal experience, Love You to the Bones presents a deeply accurate account of an anorexic’s mindset and habits, while offering insight into the causes and consequences of an eating disorder.
Mike has always been driven by a passion to create and a need to destroy; this led him to pursue a career as a professional artist while plunging him deep into the grip of anorexia and addiction. Elio is a film student whose previously tumultuous love affair left him with a fear of intimacy. When the two meet, as artist and model at a life-drawing session, they become quickly embroiled in a passionate romance. As they grow closer together, Elio becomes more receptive to love, while Mike begins to question his need for self-starvation.
Will love truly save Mike from his eating disorder? Or will the intoxicating highs and turbulent lows of a relationship only drive him further into his mental illness?
Drawing directly from the author’s personal experience, Love You to the Bones presents a deeply accurate account of an anorexic’s mindset and habits, while offering insight into the causes and consequences of an eating disorder.
113 pages, Paperback
Published March 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 6, 2025
This is a raw depiction of an eating disorder.
Mike is an artist who begins a passionate affair with handsome life model, Elio. The genuine attraction he feels for Elio is the catalyst that forces him to confront the fact that his love for anorexia might go beyond any emotional attachment he can ever achieve in a romantic relationship.
The author states he draws on his own experiences which clearly show through in this story that displays all the messiness of humans struggling through this world without ever pretending there are any simple answers.
Mike is an artist who begins a passionate affair with handsome life model, Elio. The genuine attraction he feels for Elio is the catalyst that forces him to confront the fact that his love for anorexia might go beyond any emotional attachment he can ever achieve in a romantic relationship.
The author states he draws on his own experiences which clearly show through in this story that displays all the messiness of humans struggling through this world without ever pretending there are any simple answers.
January 22, 2026
Trigger Warnings (please read before starting):
.Anorexia
.Alcoholism
.Drug abuse
.Contemplation of suicide
.Breakups
.Rape
.Death
Love You to the Bones by Michael Conforti is a beautiful and deeply well written book. It made me cry multiple times, sometimes because I could relate to the pain these men went through and other times simply from feeling their pain so vividly through the story.
One aspect that deeply resonated with me was the fear of food. Even though I have recovered from my own struggles with disordered eating and many years have passed, the quiet voice in the back of my mind, the fear of gaining weight, has never completely disappeared. I am better now, but that fear is still something I live with, and seeing it reflected so honestly meant a lot to me.
One of the men in the book shares a dark story involving rape, which is something I have also experienced. I never told anyone at the time because I did not feel like I had anyone who would truly listen. Reading that part was incredibly difficult, but also validating in a way I did not expect.
What stood out to me most is that this book inspired me to want to write about my own struggles through life. You can tell it was written from personal experience and real passion, and that honesty made me feel seen and brave enough to consider telling my own story one day.
I tried to find this book talked about on TikTok or YouTube and could not find a single video. I assume that is because of the heavy topics it explores, but if you are in a good mindset and can handle these themes, I truly recommend reading it.
The author mentioned hoping this book would reach the right audience, people who could relate, and I know I am one of them. It is a beautiful and tragic kind of book, and I do not regret reading it at all. In fact, I hope the author writes more in the future.
.Anorexia
.Alcoholism
.Drug abuse
.Contemplation of suicide
.Breakups
.Rape
.Death
Love You to the Bones by Michael Conforti is a beautiful and deeply well written book. It made me cry multiple times, sometimes because I could relate to the pain these men went through and other times simply from feeling their pain so vividly through the story.
One aspect that deeply resonated with me was the fear of food. Even though I have recovered from my own struggles with disordered eating and many years have passed, the quiet voice in the back of my mind, the fear of gaining weight, has never completely disappeared. I am better now, but that fear is still something I live with, and seeing it reflected so honestly meant a lot to me.
One of the men in the book shares a dark story involving rape, which is something I have also experienced. I never told anyone at the time because I did not feel like I had anyone who would truly listen. Reading that part was incredibly difficult, but also validating in a way I did not expect.
What stood out to me most is that this book inspired me to want to write about my own struggles through life. You can tell it was written from personal experience and real passion, and that honesty made me feel seen and brave enough to consider telling my own story one day.
I tried to find this book talked about on TikTok or YouTube and could not find a single video. I assume that is because of the heavy topics it explores, but if you are in a good mindset and can handle these themes, I truly recommend reading it.
The author mentioned hoping this book would reach the right audience, people who could relate, and I know I am one of them. It is a beautiful and tragic kind of book, and I do not regret reading it at all. In fact, I hope the author writes more in the future.
September 24, 2025
This is a book about gay men and anorexia. Four of them, one of whom dies after being hospitalized. If you have anorexia, it romanticizes it. If you don't, you'll never have it. It's on the grim side.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews