Inner Hunger: A Young Woman's Struggle Through Anorexia and Bulimia

By Marianne Apostolides

Book Overview

Adolescence is a time full of pitfalls for teenage girls. Many escape relatively unscathed; some -- unable to cope successfully with the pressures exerted by family, school, and the media -- develop eating disorders. Marianne Apostolides was one of those girls. She became anorexic at the age of fourteen and struggled for the next ten years with anorexia, binge eating, and bulimia. In this courageous work, Apostolides recreates the years in which she felt she could control her life only by controlling her diet. Insecure, unable to communicate with her parents, and driven to achieve at school, she initially found relief in the structure of calorie-counting and schedules. When the constant dieting became too much for her body to handle, she began to binge, and then to binge and purge. Her world defined by food, Apostolides would battle throughout high school, college, and adulthood to confront the deeper issues that compelled her to hurt herself again and again. This is a book about a young woman who did not know how to cope with her feelings, and who, through therapy, was able to find the road to recovery at last. Absorbing and honest, hers is an important story of anguish, frustration, and, ultimately, triumph.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393333256
• ISBN13: 9780393333251
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

good

For many people inner hunger seems repetitive and somewhat boring. At times, i myself felt that as well. However,i loved the book so much because i could relate to it. i feel everything that she felt and went through. Everything that i can't say the right way, everything that i can't tell my parents is right there. i even have gone through the same eating patterns, from starving myself for weeks, to eating all the food i could find, to then throwing it up. this may not be the most exciting book, but it definately made me feel as though i'm not alone.

"Inner Hunger"

The novel, "Inner Hunger" by Marianne Apostolides, is about a young girl who struggles with the effects of Anorexia and Bulimia. This book is full of advice to victims, parents, friends, teachers' etc. Although, I have not experienced one of these eating disorders, the author has and it make the novel all the better. The reader gets an inside view of what life is like with anorexia or bulimia. Approximately, one out of ten teenage girls is affected by any of these eating disorders. They most likely to this because they don't feel pretty enough, or cool enough, or smart or judged unfairly. They feel as if this is the only way they are going to feel loved or be happy. But, after the disorder has destroyed their bodies, they realize that it wasn't worth the pain and the struggle.These novel gives excellent advice to loved ones and people dealing with someone that had an eating disorder. This advice is practical, so it may not seem as it would be the right thing to do. But, coming from a survivor of both anorexia and bulimia, it means a lot. I think that anyone that is struggling with the disease or knows someone, who is, should read this book. Even if you just are interested in the subject. Then is would be a good book for them, also. The novel gives an excellent insight of the diseases to lets people realize the harm that can be done by using them. Everyone should be informed and aware of eating disorders for themselves and other they may care about. That's why I give this book a five star rating.

Mandatory reading for all who's lives include young women.

My recent academic journey into the sometimes frightening world of eating disorders has put me more in touch with the maturation struggles and survival aspects of contemporary young women. Marianne Apostolides' revealing look at her own history as the daughter of an immigrant father and a first generation Greek-American mother has put a very real face on eating disorders as the little-understood symptoms of aculturalization that plague a very large segment of American girls and women. Apostolides takes the reader from her first moments of anorexic behavior through her decade-long period of bulimia to her eventual release from the need to express herself throught these behaviors. While the journey described in Inner Hunger is painfully graphic at times, the eventual results are rewarding for anyone who will survive Apostolides' journey with her. Apostolides has done a great service to present sufferers, their families and friends by presenting the much-needed hope that survival can be achieved.

A direct look into a world where many suffer.

A powerful beginning for one woman on the road to recovery. The book not only depicts a specific struggle, but manages to detail the irony of suburbia as a utopia, and the fine line between control and chaos that seems inherent in those who strive to be the best.