My Life as a Male Anorexic

by Michael Krasnow

My Life as a Male Anorexic is a uniquely male point of view of anorexia nervosa. It is the autobiographical account of a young man’s ongoing struggle with anorexia.

Michael Krasnow has had anorexia since 1984, and he chronicles his daily struggles, feelings, and experiences in this book. He writes in a relaxed, easygoing manner that makes the book appealing to all readers. While ignoring statistics and not pretending to be an expert on the disorder, Michael simply tells readers what his life is like and how anorexia has affected--even controlled--it. As of today, Michael has maintained his weight at 75 pounds on a 5-foot, 9-inch frame.

Anyone who suffers, or anyone who knows someone who suffers from, anorexia will learn that male anorexia is a serious problem and that there needs to be psychological and medical help for the boys and men who struggle with anorexia. As Michael begins his book, “For years, anorexia existed, but very few people knew of it. Women who suffered from it did not realize that they were not alone. Eventually, as more became known and anorexia became more publicized, a greater number of women came forward to seek help, no longer feeling that they would be considered strange or outcasts from society. Maybe with the publication of this book, more men with the problem will realize that they are not alone either, and that they do not suffer from a ‘woman’s disease.’ They can come forward without worrying about embarrassment.”

Michael’s story will baffle, frustrate, sadden, and irritate readers, whether they are interested in the human side of Michael’s story, whether they are workers in the medical field--psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, nurses, aides, social workers, mental health counselors--or whether they are teachers, coworkers, friends, or relatives of a male with anorexia. My Life as a Male Anorexic begins to shed light on the little-known or discussed problem of male anorexia nervosa.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health, Memoir

Paperback

First published August 2, 1996

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the most useful contribution of the book is not that it's written by a male anorectic, but that the entire book was written with the author in starvation syndrome.

It's a good insight into what it is like when someone is in starvation - no personality, no insight, no theory of mind etc.

Sad story.

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me throw this out there: I think this is a hugely important topic. There's very little literature out there on men with eating disorders, and even less by men with eating disorders.

The starkness of this book, of the author's prose, will probably appeal to many, but I couldn't get behind it. The writing is very calm, unfeeling, and it's hard to sympathize with the author. Based on his writing, I don't think his underlying problems were ever addressed (wrong kind of therapy, perhaps a lack of therapy), but neither does he seem to think that a) he has a problem in the first place (not that this is unusual, but it makes it harder to get into the book) or b) that his actions are causing pain to anyone else.

There's a lot of repetition of events and facts and a lack of insight into the author's own actions and thoughts, and I wish that the author had collaborated with somebody else on this book - as I said, it's an extremely important topic and could have been a very interesting story.

At several points in the book the author mentions being "happy" and "healthy" with a given weight and not being able to understand why those around him won't let him stay there - and then he drops weight and says the same thing about a lower weight (he also mentions the many health problems that accompanied his anorexia... and he died of it around the time of the book's publication). I don't think he understood himself or his eating disorder well enough at the time of writing to provide a useful portrait.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a painful book. But I'm glad that I read it and gave Michael Krasnow the space to tell his story to me, and to keep telling it even though he has since died. As another reviewer has remarked, Michael's voice comes through very clearly, and it was my favorite aspect of this book. I felt like Michael was speaking or writing directly to me, and I appreciated his matter-of-fact honesty and bluntness. The telling of his life has given a front line look at what it is like to not only live as a male with anorexia nervosa, but what healthcare was like for such a person during the 1990s. I also valued the portrayal of family dynamics and struggles, and the guilt that the person with anorexia can have when it comes to the ways in which the disease impacts the family. I am so saddened that Michael was never able to achieve relief on this earth from his suffering. I am grateful, however, that Michael had the opportunity to share this valuable account of his life.

[Rachael Steil · Rating 2 out of 5]

His voice is very clear; you hear his personality easily but he seems very lackluster, in denial (naturally) and isn't afraid to speak his mind. Not well written but he was just trying to get his story out there so that more people could understand male anorexia.

[Brittani Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was in need of a better editor, but I think the simple language helps make Michael's story in his own words all the more personal and powerful. This book really gives an intimate look into the mind of a man that struggled with severe depression and anorexia.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Life as a Male Anorexic by Michael Krasnow (Harrington Park Press 1996) (616.85) (3861).

Here is an absolutely extraordinary memoir from author Michael Krasnow. Krasnow had anorexia nervosa, major depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He was born in New York in 1969 and grew up in Massachusetts. He was first hospitalized with anorexia at the age of 15 and was still anorexic at 27 when this memoir was published in 1996 shortly before his death. (He died from the disease a year after publication. At the time of his death, he weighed 68 pounds. Standing 5’11” tall, he thus had a Body Mass Index of 11.1 when he passed away.)

Krasnow maintained an adult weight of 75 pounds for several years. (According to Krasnow, if his weight rose above 75 pounds he “felt fat.”) His parents first became concerned when they realized that he had begun studying his daily high school lessons from 2:30 every afternoon until 2:00 in the morning. When he subsequently began brushing his teeth for twelve hours every day, his parents had him hospitalized.

The author notes that he developed five unusual habits which he faithfully practiced on a daily basis: (1) the refusal to eat any low calorie or diet foods; (2) the refusal to let anyone see him eat; (3) the constant wearing of a jacket or bathrobes; (4) the refusal to drink water; and (5) the refusal to swallow his saliva (he carried a spit cup to bed each night). (p.19-21)

He was one manipulative individual. Though he was often hospitalized, his parents visited daily. He ran away from a number of hospitalizations and on two occasions bought bus tickets and rode to distant states where he’d check into a motel. In a few days he would telephone his parents to come rescue him. He would tell them how and where to find him, and they came to collect him each time without fail. (On one occasion, he told his mother that he was at a bus station and was about to board a coach, yet he stuck around the station until she showed up to rescue him.)

One of the doctors Krasnow liked wrote in one of Krasnow’s numerous hospital discharge summaries (reprinted as appendices to the book) as follows: “The patient…focuses on the issues of his inability and unwillingness to consistently eat. I have discussed with him that there is a major difference between his inability to eat and his unwillingness to eat.” (Stephen Wiener, MD, p. 108).

The next year, Dr. Stephen Weiner wrote this in a subsequent discharge summary following another of Krasnow’s hospital stays: “The patient remained angry at us for our unwillingness to allow him to starve to death. He became more negative toward the staff as it became clearer that we would not allow him to starve himself to death…He continued to insist that he would not eat and would die of starvation.” (Stephen Wiener, MD, p. 118).

Krasnow was good to his word. His memoir ended in March of 1996. Michael Krasnow died seventeen months later. He weighed 68 pounds.

Krasnow’s stated purpose in writing this memoir was to provide a written record of his experience in hopes of benefitting both anorexics and therapists.

One can only hope that his wish was granted.

My rating: 7.25/10, finished 8/31/23 (3861).

[Jane Doe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not a bad book.

Some other reviewers have mentioned they felt the book was repetitive, but I mostly only felt this way with the back section including medical records.

I feel Krasnow’s story shows us the depth of severe anorexia and how complex of an illness it really is. I never thought much about how recovery for an anorexic can lead to running off, suicidal ideation, etc. it’s an eye opener for me.

I definitely also agree with Krasnow on the idea that if the issue was approached differently at an earlier period when his obsessive compulsive tendencies had started, that it would have been likely that he would have made a better recovery. Though, it’s important such as one of his doctors had written in their report that many doctors specialized in eating disorders in this era wanted patients to contract with a recovery plan rather than treating the issue itself to make full recovery more possible.

I feel this book shows us what this era was like in terms of having disordered eating, but definitely that through a rarer perspective of a male anorexic.

I feel this book is important for many to understand those who are experiencing this illness.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating and sad book that provided an interesting perspective on what it’s like to live with anorexia and depression. What sets this book apart from others is the fact that it’s authored by a man and that he was still deep in his illnesses while writing it, meaning that it does lack the type of insight you could see from someone who had recovered and been able to use a clear state of mind to detail their life. I did somewhat dislike that the events of his life aren’t written as in-depth scenes. Rather, you get a few sentences that describe the basics of what happened. It would’ve been nice if he explored his motivations and emotions a bit more but other than that, it was a good one-day read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting in that it was written by someone very much in the throes of his illness. The author spends a lot of time telling readers that doctors are wrong to try to force him to gain weight and that he is functioning perfectly fine at 75 pounds. But when he talks about what he actually does it's clear that he's not really functioning that well. He's happy because he's in control but he could be so much more than what he let himself be. Add that to the fact that the author died shortly after the publication of this book (before he was 30, I believe), and you get a portrait of someone in denial and tragically ill.
I also noticed how he points to certain peoples' actions as causes for relapse into starvation. My take on this is that the relapses were just caused by the illness itself and the people couldn't have done anything to make it better or worse. It's easy to try and find a cause of relapse but in the end it comes down to how you choose to cope with things.
I wish it had a happier ending.

[Nerida Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really does show us how the condition of anorexia, especially in males, is still a relatively new field as noone really knew what to do/how to treat someone with it in the 1980-90s. It makes you realise how important family and the right therapist is in being able to overcome the condition

[Nerida Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really does show us how the condition of anorexia, especially in males, is still a relatively new field as noone really knew what to do/how to treat someone with it in the 1980-90s. It makes you realise how important family and the right therapist is in being able to overcome the condition