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10th out of 220 books
—
380 voters
Purge: Rehab Diaries
by
Nicole J. Johns (Goodreads Author)
Purge is a beautifully crafted memoir that has a Girl, Interrupted feel. In this raw and engaging account of her months in rehab, Nicole Johns documents her stay in a residential treatment facility for eating disorders. Her prose is lucid and vivid, as she seamlessly switches verb tenses and moves through time. She unearths several important themes: body image and sexualit...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
March 17th 2009
by Seal Press
(first published March 1st 2009)
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Memoirs are not usually that interesting to me. I find that they sound like they’re airing baggage. They also usually lack craft or innovation. And no matter how much the author may confess to explore their own faults or wrongdoings, there is usually a tone of arrogance or self-righteousness. (See Dharma Punx, which explores two unlikely linked subjects I am interested in—Buddhism and punk rock.) Johns’ Purge: Rehab Diaries is a refreshing exception.
Most of the book involves Johns’ experience du...more
Most of the book involves Johns’ experience du...more
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Wow, it makes me feel kind of weird that there are so many mediocre reviews of this book, when I got so completely sucked into it and read it in one morning. I mean, last night I played a show with my band at a converted biscuit factory, out in East Oakland, with two other bands and a fashion show. It was kind of emotionally draining because there was drama and THEN there was tons of traffic on route 80 so I didn't get home til like three AM, but the dog didn't care, she started flipping out som...more
I finished the majority of this memoir in one night. Powerful book--very easy to read. Most people are only aware of anorexia and bulimia but Purge takes the reader inside the experience of a not-so-well-known eating disorder: EDNOS. (Which stands for Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.)
The book starts with an introduction by Nicole Johns in which she references Wasted by Marya Hornbacher. I wasn't sure how to take this: on one hand, she just referenced my favorite memoir and probably the...more
The book starts with an introduction by Nicole Johns in which she references Wasted by Marya Hornbacher. I wasn't sure how to take this: on one hand, she just referenced my favorite memoir and probably the...more
Purge chronicles Nicole Johns' memoir of her time in a eating disorders rehab center in Wisconsin for 88 days in 2004, when she was 23 years old, for EDNOS, a term meaning Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. The writing is stark, interspersed with clinical documents like her intake documents, guidelines from the clinic, and the $24,500 bill for her treatment ($15,500 was covered by her insurance).
While anyone who's read any other first-person accounts of eating disorders, or lived with one,...more
While anyone who's read any other first-person accounts of eating disorders, or lived with one,...more
I wish I could give this book a 3.5, because 3 seems too low but 4 seems too high. I guess I'll just have to live with stating that here.
Strengths: Jones is incredibly candid, which I appreciated. She tells everything the way it was, without trying to glorify or dramatize the disorder or the experience and without filling in blanks with imagined scenarios. It seems that she doesn't care if she offends, upsets, or impresses anyone in her writing, which makes it feel much more honest. Overall, it'...more
Strengths: Jones is incredibly candid, which I appreciated. She tells everything the way it was, without trying to glorify or dramatize the disorder or the experience and without filling in blanks with imagined scenarios. It seems that she doesn't care if she offends, upsets, or impresses anyone in her writing, which makes it feel much more honest. Overall, it'...more
Quite good, and it's refreshing to read a book on eating disorders that focuses on the struggles of recovery, as opposed to the years of disordered behavior. (For an example of the latter, read Wasted by Marya Hornbacher. Like many other of this type, it's a veritable how-to manual for anorexia and bulimia.) Covering her inpatient stay for EDNOS, Johns presents her own view of recovery, including those there with you who fall by the wayside. Overall, quite good.
The only problem I have with Purge...more
The only problem I have with Purge...more
This is the kind of train wreck of a memoir that I always look for when I'm taking a long trip; somehow these types of books keep me interested while sitting on a plane for hours and hours. Nicole Johns entered an eating disorder rehab clinic to try to beat her demon, EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, but it's a lot like bulimia). She talks about her own struggles and the struggles of the other women who have checked themselves into the clinic, and also about life in the clinic its...more
In comparing this book to other memoirs of a similar topic I believe it is my favorite. It is probably the best written and most lucid. I found Johns' report of her stuggles and what was helpful to her in recovery insightful and helpful as a treatment provider. I also liked how she characterized the different personality types of the girls with bulimia versus anorexia. It would be a lie not to admit that it is also appealing in the fact that it had a happy ending.
The memoir is empowering and pos...more
The memoir is empowering and pos...more
Unusually written, in a wispy, poetic second person at first, the author was pulling women and men without explaining her sexuality, not even on the back cover or in the foreword, which was unexpected. Good for her.
I enjoyed the unusual writing style ... mainly in the present tense, sometimes in the future tense, somehow intimate and superficial, personal and impersonal, simultaneously. I wondered whether Nicole's use of language was intentionally disorientating? And I was conscious most of the...more
I enjoyed the unusual writing style ... mainly in the present tense, sometimes in the future tense, somehow intimate and superficial, personal and impersonal, simultaneously. I wondered whether Nicole's use of language was intentionally disorientating? And I was conscious most of the...more
I finished this book in 24 hours, despite the fact that I've been having a hard time sitting down to read lately. It was really engaging. I liked her inclusion of primary documents in the text, though the layouts were a bit difficult to read.
As for the story itself, I really liked the message that the author was trying to send. She says that she is trying to avoid writing a book that will just become "thinspiration" as many memoirs by anorexic and bulimic people do. She's trying to give a very...more
As for the story itself, I really liked the message that the author was trying to send. She says that she is trying to avoid writing a book that will just become "thinspiration" as many memoirs by anorexic and bulimic people do. She's trying to give a very...more
This is a memoir of the author's 2 months in treatment for Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). It's a very fast read, and pretty interesting. The tone and point of view are really slippery, and not necessarily in a calculated way. She veers between nostalgia for her friends, disdain or distrust of her doctors, and a sort of "more mature" or "recovered" voice. But what I liked about is that she does give the reader a chance to see inside the distorted thinking that characterizes eati...more
This book is a disgrace and an insult to those seriously attempting to recover from an eating disorder as well as to eating disorder treatment centers everywhere. This book teaches those with an eating disorder how to get around the rules of an eating disorder facility to further their self-harm, while offering no worthwhile advice or insight into true healing and recovery. The author should be ashamed of herself for this worthless, if not harmful, account of her 'recovery.'
This memoir covers the author's stay at a treatment center for her eating disorder. It was a good portrayal of the typical experiences one has in recovery, complete with relapses. I feel like the author tried to make sure her book wasn't triggering, and she did a pretty good job. I don't know if I would recommend it to many people, as it covers a subject that has been done many times before, but it does give an honest look at what inpatient treatment is like.
Nicole's story of being in inpatient treatment for EDNOS. She does capture well some of the awful and very real feelings of having an eating disorder, but over all the chapters are very short. It is not so much a story, but rather discrete memories and did not flow well for me. It is an easy read and does give an idea of what it is like to be in inpatient treatment, so it is a valuable contribution to the eating disorder literature.
As Johns said in the beginning of her book we are in the age of memoirs, especially memoirs concerning "taboo" topics such as eating disorders.
She claims that her story is different, and I think in some important ways it is. Johns is the first ED memoir author I have come across who has suffered from EDNOS. She is bringing light to the fact that one does not have to meet the DSM-IV criteria or appear severely emaciated to suffer from an eating disorder. Johns herself, was not drastically underw...more
She claims that her story is different, and I think in some important ways it is. Johns is the first ED memoir author I have come across who has suffered from EDNOS. She is bringing light to the fact that one does not have to meet the DSM-IV criteria or appear severely emaciated to suffer from an eating disorder. Johns herself, was not drastically underw...more
Absolutely a must-read for anyone in the field of eating disorder treatment, or for those who have a friend or family member who has struggled with an eating disorder. Johns offers a rare insight into what helped, and what didn't, as she progressed through treatment. She also describes her eating disorder in a way that helps the reader understand that it's not just ignorance or a simple, curable thought-pattern.
Jul 30, 2011
Michelle Chase
added it
I LOVED this book. It reminded me of my friends from eating disorder treatment, and I felt that I could greatly relate to her stories and experiences. I had a smile on my face the entire time while reading this book. I think anybody who has ever been into an eating disorder treatment facility should read it because it will remind them of good times, but maybe also some not so good times. I recommend it all the way!
Not that great...at times, Johns' descriptions are amusing and/or heartfelt but overall it felt too fact-based. With something so personal, I felt a wall between the reader and the writer, just like in her Group Therapy sessions, I felt like we weren't allowed "in". I also felt like the book just ended (with Holly). There are probably better books that cover ED better than Johns has.
One of the only books I have read on eating disorders that seems to be written by someone who intends to be as honest as possible about both treatment and recovery. The book is spare and intense. As a 43 year old woman who was treated for bulimia at 20 years of age, I have been looking for a long time for a book that would speak to my experience. Nicole Johns does!
Dec 04, 2009
Sherry
added it
I am amazed when there are good books out there on eating disorders that are not glamourous but honest. Ms. Johns opens with the line "one should not have to weigh 52 pounds to get help" and it was refreshing to hear of an honest struggle of a normal weight woman that didn't get saved by Jesus Christ MD or some other miraculous thing but by a long, hard journey.
I'm surprised Seal Press would even publish this. It can definately be argued that books about eating disorders and similar issues are helpful, but this didn't provide much insight, nor was it entertaining or deep. I get the feeling that the author was being self-indulgent. Maybe she couldn't completely give up her eating disorder, and she wrote this book to immortalize it. It couldn't have possibly took as much time, work, or research as other books. I really wanted another book I could relate...more
The book was a really good read. It was interesting and I had no problem finishing it. It was one of the best memoirs I've read in a while, some what refreshing. The only complaint I have about it would be about how much it skipped, but even then it maintained pretty good organization throughout the whole thing. Overall I'd rate it a 4 out of 5.
Well written memoir of this individuals experience with her eating disorder and experience in Long term residential treatment. Would be triggering to individuals with eating disorders but useful for those trying to better understand the mind of someone with an eating disorder.
I started this book two days ago, and have been virtually incapable of putting it down. I was fully drawn into the book and could really feel everything from the life that Johns described. This story is definitely one of the premiere memoirs dedicated to eating disordered behavior, with the added benefit of discussing the lifestyle and problems associated with an extended stay in an eating disorder treatment facility. I felt a strong sense of appreciation that unlike many books dedicated to the...more
I kind of thought it was terrible. I hated the format and the writing left much to be desired. While I suppose the depiction of the center was realistic it was boring and entirely irritating. I gave up reading somewhere in the middle.
A fascinating look at what it's like to participate in residential treatment for eating disorders. I hope the author publishes a sequel, because she definitely left me wanting to know more about her process of recovery.
This memoir covers a specific stay at a rehab facility for 'EDNOS' - Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. There are reproduced documents from her stay, and it authentically captures her voice. At a healthy weight, she nonetheless has severe heart problems and malnutrition from years of an eating disorder. The book doesn't cover much detail on what happens after she leaves the clinic.
Very candid and inspiring - I appreciate Johns' approach to chronicle her experiences before, during, and after treatment. I hope she continues to do well!
Gorgeous, honest, thoughtful and searing book. I learned an enormous amount about the ordeal of recovering from an eating disorder. Highly recommended.
It was definitely worth the read as it delves more into the treatment process rather than focusing solely on the downward spiral of living with an eating disorder.
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Nicole is originally from a small town in rural Western Pennsylvania, but now lives in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, where she teaches English at several local colleges. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota and her BA in English/Creative Writing from Penn State-Erie, The Behrend College. Her first book, Purge: Rehab Diaries (Seal Press, 2009) was nominated for...more
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