Feast of Famine: A Physician's Personal Struggle to Overcome Anorexia Nervosa

by Joan M. Johnston

John M. Johnston, M.D., offers an illuminating personal journey through the twisting and baffling maze of anorexia nervosa in Feast of Famine: A Physician's Personal Struggle to Overcome Anorexia Nervosa. Johnston traces her relentless pursuit of thinness and the progression of her disease over fourteen years: dramatic weight loss, bizarre nutritional habits (salads, ice cream, and cookies), severely deteriorating health, and a failed marriage. An early lack of self-confidence and a drive for perfection helped fuel her obsession with losing weight, she says, which gave her a false sense of security and control. "I felt as though I was the perfect dieter, just as I had always strived to be the perfect child, perfect student, perfect daughter," she writes. "Never in those days did I consider the possibility that my rigid dieting was a form of physical self-abuse... It gave me a feeling of power, of control over the future. In reality, it was also very nearly fatal.

Johnston examines the differences and similarities between bulimia, compulsive overeating, and anorexia, and challenges the traditional medical models that reject eating disorders as addictions. "Those of us who suffer from anorexia know that the addiction is real—not to food, but to the rituals of starvation," says the author. Johnston draws parallels between the dynamics of alcohol addiction and anorexia and makes a compelling argument for a separate Anorexics Anonymous as the only avenue to recovery.

For the millions of women who suffer from this deadly disease, as well as their families, friends, and therapists, Feast of Famine offers a powerful story of hope and recover from the fatal "craving for starvation and control" of anorexia nervosa.

370 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1993