Is that you??

I recently read a novel in which the protagonist suffered from an eating disorder. Upon discovering this, I instinctively flipped to the back cover to take a look at the author, thinking, "Ah, so there is someone who has had this particular eating disorder." I stopped myself. Who was I as a reader, to make such an assumption about an author's life, just because said author has written about a character with a particular struggle?

Then it hit me: Are my readers going to be making these...