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Alice in the Looking Glass: A Mother And Daughter's Experience of Anorexia
Trace the authors' painful experiences with anorexia from the perspectives of a young woman whose childhood manifestation of OCD evolved into a life-threatening eating disorder, and the mother who struggled to care for her while coming to an understanding of the disease.
202 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 26, 2017
I'm probably more obsessed with ED books than is healthy, but it's so reassuring to read other people's experiences that are similar to my own. This book was absolutely fantastic - not only did it help me see that I'm not alone or abnormal, but I was also able to read a mother's point of view on the experience. I understand now how awful it must have been for my own mother during my inpatient hospital stay and the initial battle of getting a diagnosis.
I found it interesting that they gave Jo (the mother)'s perspective first, instead of Alice herself. We learn about what she witnesses before we find out exactly what Alice was actually thinking and feeling.
They don't include weights or numbers in this, which is tremendously helpful. Like Jo says, this is a competitive illness, and even parents seem to want to compete in having the "most poorly" child. But it's so triggering for other people to read about how much weight someone lost, and it's not really relevant. Weight loss is just a side affect of the illness, and not the main issue itself.
The reality is addressed so honestly in this book, all the feelings and experiences that we may be ashamed to admit are written in black and white. It made me feel a lot less guilty about things that I've felt, knowing other people have felt the same way, too. And the recovery aspect was not unrealistically easy or happy; Alice is not completely recovered even at the end of the book, but is managing her illness. That is how most of us will live for a long time, if not for the rest of our lives. But Alice expresses how she is so much happier "managing" her anorexia than she was when she was suffering years ago. It gives hope - even if you don't fully recover, life can be good.
I really loved this book. I'd urge anyone with a loved one who is suffering from an eating disorder (or has one themselves) to read this, as it would really help seeing both perspectives on the journey. 5 stars.
I found it interesting that they gave Jo (the mother)'s perspective first, instead of Alice herself. We learn about what she witnesses before we find out exactly what Alice was actually thinking and feeling.
They don't include weights or numbers in this, which is tremendously helpful. Like Jo says, this is a competitive illness, and even parents seem to want to compete in having the "most poorly" child. But it's so triggering for other people to read about how much weight someone lost, and it's not really relevant. Weight loss is just a side affect of the illness, and not the main issue itself.
The reality is addressed so honestly in this book, all the feelings and experiences that we may be ashamed to admit are written in black and white. It made me feel a lot less guilty about things that I've felt, knowing other people have felt the same way, too. And the recovery aspect was not unrealistically easy or happy; Alice is not completely recovered even at the end of the book, but is managing her illness. That is how most of us will live for a long time, if not for the rest of our lives. But Alice expresses how she is so much happier "managing" her anorexia than she was when she was suffering years ago. It gives hope - even if you don't fully recover, life can be good.
I really loved this book. I'd urge anyone with a loved one who is suffering from an eating disorder (or has one themselves) to read this, as it would really help seeing both perspectives on the journey. 5 stars.
April 14, 2009
Excellent honest account of the tenacious hold both anorexia and OCD have. Written by an English mother and daughter it is refreshingly lacking in any so-called "expert" opinions and advice. Simply the details of Alice's illness and the bond forged with her mother as she endeavors to reclaim her daughter from an eating disorders grasp. In the end, Alice is not cured but has gained enough of a recovery to enter medical school.
April 8, 2022
When it comes to non-fiction, your own history and experiences can have a strong influence on what books you’re drawn to so you can be certain that I’ll pick up any memoir centred around eating disorders, bipolar, anxiety, addiction…and so on and so on. With that being the case I’ve read a fair number of books tackling these topics and for me, this one was just okay. There was a lot I felt worked but a few things fell short. I enjoyed the idea of the two part execution, starting with Alice’s mother detailing her experience and and ending with Alice’s take on things, though at times it ended up a little repetitive as the same events were covered in both parts. It should be noted that neither Jo nor Alice included numbers or weights or measurements, which not only makes the story less likely to be a trigger book but really reinforces that an eating disorder truly isn’t about numbers and weight, that’s simply the surface. I thought part one did an excellent job conveying the fear, confusion, and helplessness of a family member trying to make sense of this craziness they’re thrust into. On more than one occasion I thought to myself “Oh no don’t fall for this” when Jo was detailing her struggles with Alice but again, this illustrated extremely well the confusion and disorientation a family member can have when trying to deal with someone who you suddenly realize you don’t know like you used to. Jo’s section was an accurate and engrossing picture of how one person’s problem can truly engulf the whole family.
Unfortunately I found part two somewhat lacking. I don’t know if it was because it covered the same events and therefore felt repetitive, but as a whole the second part felt sort of shallow, as if just the bare minimum at the surface was being scratched.
If you look at the idea of an agenda being used to note and track daily happenings and a journal being used to delve deeper into what drove those happenings, I feel like part one of this book was similar to the journal and part two was the agenda. I wanted as much substance from the second part as there was in the first, but it came off as a little clinical and restrained and often felt a lot like an unedited journal entry and less like engrossing prose.
On the plus side I do like that it didn’t necessarily wrap up with a nice neat bow. Sometimes you see it portrayed as if some magic switch is flipped and suddenly everyone is just better, like nothing was amiss in the first place but this felt like a much more realistic conclusion.
Unfortunately I found part two somewhat lacking. I don’t know if it was because it covered the same events and therefore felt repetitive, but as a whole the second part felt sort of shallow, as if just the bare minimum at the surface was being scratched.
If you look at the idea of an agenda being used to note and track daily happenings and a journal being used to delve deeper into what drove those happenings, I feel like part one of this book was similar to the journal and part two was the agenda. I wanted as much substance from the second part as there was in the first, but it came off as a little clinical and restrained and often felt a lot like an unedited journal entry and less like engrossing prose.
On the plus side I do like that it didn’t necessarily wrap up with a nice neat bow. Sometimes you see it portrayed as if some magic switch is flipped and suddenly everyone is just better, like nothing was amiss in the first place but this felt like a much more realistic conclusion.
August 9, 2023
5*. Díky osobnímu zájmu o téma můžu ocenit realistické vyobrazení boje s psychickým onemocněním. V tomto případě kombinací obsedantně kompulzivní poruchy a poruchy příjmu potravy.
Vysoko hodnotím právě autenticitu knížky a jsem shovívavá k ostatním kvalitám.
Příběh sepsala matka a dcera. Obě se snaží s nemocí žít plnohodnotný život, který je o neustálém hledání cesty a neztracení naděje.
Vysoko hodnotím právě autenticitu knížky a jsem shovívavá k ostatním kvalitám.
Příběh sepsala matka a dcera. Obě se snaží s nemocí žít plnohodnotný život, který je o neustálém hledání cesty a neztracení naděje.
March 13, 2018
Eye-opening and very gripping.
February 9, 2014
This is a memoir in two parts -- Jo Kingsley's experience of her daughter going through anorexia, and then Alice Kingsley's take on the same time period. I probably would have preferred a bit deeper analysis from both of them, or more coordination in terms of which each of them wrote about (it gets repetitive), but it's a decent look at the impact of anorexia on a family as well as an individual.
What struck me most, though, was that although it's presented as an ultimately hopeful and triumphant story, there's still so much limitation by the end of it. It's a sadder read for it -- I got the impression that she was managing her illness, but only up to a point. I would have liked to see more detail of how boarding school helped or hindered her, and how she managed in university -- but of course the latter was still in the future when they wrote this.
What struck me most, though, was that although it's presented as an ultimately hopeful and triumphant story, there's still so much limitation by the end of it. It's a sadder read for it -- I got the impression that she was managing her illness, but only up to a point. I would have liked to see more detail of how boarding school helped or hindered her, and how she managed in university -- but of course the latter was still in the future when they wrote this.
April 16, 2009
Alice in the Looking Glass was a very honest reflection of a mother (Jo Kingsley) and daughter (Alice) and their personal journey through anorexia and ocd. This book so mirrored our own families' years of struggle with this devastating disease. As a mother also Jo's story resonated, often painfully, with me and I was grateful to read her daughter's honest insight into her experience.
I especially appreciated the ocd (obsessive compulsive disease) angle as this is not often addressed in the typical "eating disorder" book.
I especially appreciated the ocd (obsessive compulsive disease) angle as this is not often addressed in the typical "eating disorder" book.
September 3, 2020
Finished 24th November.
A touching story but I got bored halfway through. The story is told firstly by the mother and then in the second half by the daughter but it became a bit repetitive in the second half.
A touching story but I got bored halfway through. The story is told firstly by the mother and then in the second half by the daughter but it became a bit repetitive in the second half.
April 27, 2014
Excellent read, it's profound.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews