Hungry: A Mother and Daughter Fight Anorexia

by Sheila Himmel, Lisa Himmel

A unique eating-disorder memoir written by a mother and daughter.

Unbeknownst to food critic Sheila Himmel—as she reviewed exotic cuisines from bistro to brasserie—her daughter, Lisa, was at home starving herself. Before Sheila fully grasped what was happening, her fourteen-year-old with a thirst for life and a palate for the flavors of Vietnam and Afghanistan was replaced by a weight-obsessed, antisocial, hundredpound nineteen-year-old. From anorexia to bulimia and back again-many times—the Himmels feared for Lisa's life as her disorder took its toll on her physical and emotional well-being.

Hungry is the first memoir to connect eating disorders with a food-obsessed culture in a very personal way, following the stumbles, the heartbreaks, and even the funny moments as a mother-daughter relationship—and an entire family—struggles toward healing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Mental Health, Psychology, Biography

281 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sheila Himmel is an award-winning food critic, writer and editor. As restaurant critic for the San Jose Mercury News, she despaired when her daughter, Lisa, developed severe eating disorders. Together they wrote an article for the paper, and now the book, Hungry. "