An Apple a Day: A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia Paperback – 7 May 2012

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Review ------ ‘Woolf bravely and publicly catalogues her journey to recovery from her eating disorder. It is very inspiring.’ (Lily Collins, actress and model in Sunday Telegraph’s Stella Magazine) 'Frank and compelling... made me understand anorexia in a way I never have before.' (Woman's Hour BBC Radio 4) 'Love your column… Read it religiously. Very positive. And brave.' (Twitter follower) 'An Apple a Day tells a powerful story, heart warming and heart rending by turns. It is ultimately a story filled with hope, and Emma Woolf's moving, deeply personal account of her journey out of anorexia will bring that hope to so many more people trapped by this dreadful illness.' (Susan Ringwood (Chief Executive, Beat)) 'There are many books written by people who have struggled with anorexia. Perhaps every heroic journey deserves the right to be heard especially by others who suffer, to know that they are not alone. By the same token these books need to be read by healers who seek to guide sufferers into a different way of life. Emma's book however differs from all the others I have read. It is not just Emma's elegant way with words, it is also her ability to document her thoughts and behaviour while also exposing them to her own inful analysis and curiosity. I felt humbled, never having quite realized, despite my years of experience, the extent to which this illness can hold someone hostage to its power even when it is held up to the light of intense and public scrutiny. The one take-home message brought home to the reader is that healing anorexia is little to do with gaining weight; this will reduce some of the symptoms while at the same time making other life experiences feel infinitely more dangerous - like emerging feelings and the challenges of sharing your life with other people. It also proves that anorexia can only be properly faced, fought and even hopefully mastered when weight isn't dangerously low. I will recommend Emma's personal account to every therapist I train, while wishing her the happy ending she so clearly deserves.' (Deanne Jade, psychologist and founder of the National Centre for Eating Disorders) 'a compelling account of anorexia which in deceptively simple style, really gets under the skin of why people starve themselves. Woolf, the great-niece of Virginia, has already charted her progress in a weekly column for the Times which received a huge response from fellow sufferers and their loved ones.' (The Bookseller) 'The contrast between her privileged life and her personal misery is strikingly established in this book before she begins to deal positively with her long-standing 'addiction to hunger'… 'Coming out' about her condition and narrating the process of recovery has been as much agony as therapy, but it has been a needful exercise for the writer and her support group of readers.' (The Times) Featured on (Woman's Hour BBC Radio 4) 'The title of her book is laced with irony: an apple a day does not keep the doctor away if that is all you are eating... her words are neatly woven, not sentimental - the account of the life and love of a thirty-something woamn... It could be any of us. Some of the most interesting passages are about how she 'outed' herself, first to her boyfriend, Tom, and later to readers of The Times, in a popular column which continues each Tuesday... Just a few weeks ago she ate her first chocolate bar in 15 years.' (The Islington Tribune) 'Having gone through both the disease and the recovery at one time myself, I share her conviction that we need more understanding of this complicated condition. Stories of survival from those who have suffered with the illness need to be brought forward if we are to one day unlock this chamber of secrets.' (Joanna Patricia Caveney PinkVox.com) About the Author ---------------- Emma Woolf is the great-niece of Virginia Woolf. After studying English at Oxford University she worked in publishing, before becoming a full-time writer. She is a columnist for The Times and also writes for The Independent, The Mail on Sunday, Harper's Bazaar, Red, Grazia and Psychologies. She was a co-presenter on Channel 4's Supersize vs Superskinny; other media appearances include Newsnight, Woman's Hour and Radio 4's Four Thought. Emma's first book, An Apple a Day: A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia was published in 2012 and shortlisted for the Beat Award for Recovery Inspiration. She was also nominated for Mind's Journalist of the Year. She lives in London. You can follow Emma on Twitter: @ejwoolf. Review of The Ministry of Thin in The Observer: "Woolf sets her stall out with brio. [...] Woolf's skill in is in adding intellectual and emotional ballast to the debates that interest her. In its best moments, this book emerges as a hypnotist's finger-click signalling women to wake up."