An acclaimed classic from the award-winning author of The Body Project presents a history of women's food-refusal dating back as far as the sixteenth century, providing compassion to victims and their families. Here is a tableau of female self-denial: medieval martyrs who used starvation to demonstrate religious devotion, "wonders of science" whose families capitalized on their ability to survive on flower petals and air, silent screen stars whose strict "slimming" regimens inspired a generation. Here, too, is a fascinating look at how the cultural ramifications of the Industrial Revolution produced a disorder that continues to render privileged young women helpless. Incisive, compassionate, illuminating, Fasting Girls offers real understanding to victims and their families, clinicians, and all women who are interested in the origins and future of this complex, modern and characteristically female disease.
Praise for the Previous Novels of Varley O’Connor “Thoroughly researched and lively.” —Vogue “Elegantly wrought, hardheaded, and tenderhearted.” —Michael Chabon “Honesty and compassion inform every page, and there are passages so musical and full of grace they read like hymns. Reading groups should rejoice.” —Sigrid Nunez “[O’Connor] captures the dangerous intersection between private life and the forces of history . . . and gives the reader that rare pleasure of inhabiting another family life that feels at once entirely familiar and new.” —Susan Richards Shreve Twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob was the most famous of the Victorian fasting girls, who claimed to miraculously survive without food, serving as flashpoints between struggling religious, scientific, and political factions. In this novel based on Sarah’s life and premature death from what may be the first documented case of anorexia, an American journalist, recovering from her husband’s death in the Civil War, leaves her home and children behind to travel to Wales, where she investigates Sarah’s bizarre case by becoming the young girl’s friend and confidante. Unable to prevent the girl’s tragic decline while doctors, nurses, and a local priest keep watch, she documents the curious family dynamic, the trial that convicted Sarah’s parents, and an era’s hysterical need to both believe and destroy Sarah’s seemingly miraculous power. Intense, dark, and utterly compelling, The Welsh Fasting Girl delves into the complexities of a true story to understand how a culture’s anxieties led to the murder of a child. Varley O’Connor is the author of five novels, including The Welsh Fasting Girl, The Master’s Muse, and The Cure. She lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Life in Ingrid Steffensen’s New Jersey suburb was safe, comfortable, and predictable. A college professor, wife, and mother of a preadolescent daughter, her carefully cultivated world was comprised of the usual suspects: family, work, book clubs, yoga classes, and date nights. Then, one day—thinking she’d be a good sport and maybe learn something about what made her car-crazed husband tick—she put a helmet on her head, took her Mini Cooper to the racetrack, and learned how to drive it really, really fast. Soon, what began as a whim became a full-blown obsession—and a freeing journey of self-discovery. In the eventful, exhilarating year that followed her first lesson, Steffenson dove head-first into high-performance driving. In the process, she discovered the terrifying and addictive thrill of pushing her limits, learning an entirely new set of skills, and tackling danger head-on—and found that doing so liberated her in a way that she hadn’t even known she needed. Fast-paced and fun, Fast Girl is the quirky, real-life chronicle of how one woman stepped outside her comfort zone, shrugged off the shackles of suburban conformity, and changed her entire perspective on life through the unlikeliest of means: racecar driving.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness, and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition, but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind. During the 1990s, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner, a major sports apparel spokesperson, and a happily married wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth: manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her obsession to perform and win. For years after leaving the track, Suzy wrestled with her condition, as well as the loss of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career. After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual, Suzy embarked on a new path, and assumed a new identity. Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength and independence and a desire she couldn’t tamp down, she became a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as “Kelly.” But Suzy could not keep her double life a secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy finally got the proper medical help she needed. In this startling frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically controlling her body learned to come to terms with her unstable mind. It is the story of a how a supreme competitor scored her most important victory of all—reclaiming her life from the ravages of an untreated mental illness. Today, thanks to diagnosis, therapy, Kelly has stepped into the shadows, but Suzy is building a better life, one day at a time. Sharing her story, Suzy is determined to raise awareness, provide understanding, and offer inspiration to others coping with their own challenges.
Whether you're living paycheck to paycheck or just trying to make smarter financial choices, let award-winning writer and Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary show you the practical steps you need to take for the financial peace you long for. In The 21-Day Financial Fast, Michelle proposes a field-tested financial challenge: for twenty-one days, put away your credit cards and buy only the barest essentials. What happens next will forever change the way you think about wealth. With Michelle's guidance, you'll discover how to: Break bad spending habits Plot a course to become debt-free with the Debt Dash Plan Avoid the temptation of overspending for college Learn how to prepare elderly relatives and yourself for future long-term care expenses Be prepared for any contingency with a Life Happens Fund Stop worrying about money and find the priceless power of financial peace Join the thousands of others who have already discovered practical ways to achieve financial freedom and experience what it truly means to live a life of financial peace and prosperity.
This compulsively readable cultural history tells the story of Mollie Fancher, a young Brooklyn woman who became "the most famous sick person in the world" because of her claim to have lived for more than a decade without food.
Lofgreen, an overweight 43 year-old mother of six children was overwhelmed and living in a state of procrastination until one day she reached bottom. She decided to change her life and stepped into the world of hunger. Why would she put herself in such a position? Her Christian faith encouraged fasting, an observance she'd ignored for twenty years. Could there be more to this timeless religious practice than she realized? Determined, she struggled, resented, fought and eventually rejoiced in the lessons she learned from daily 16-hour intermittent fasts. She constantly asked God questions: Why was obesity wide-spread? Why did some have so much while others starved? Why was body size related to self-worth? Why had she turned to food after being sexually abused? While combating hunger, she learned how the difficult decisions in her life shaped her greatest potential and that big dreams are only possible if she lived in the present. She experienced improved relationships with her family, tremendous clarity of mind and weight loss. In essence, the dreams she'd long buried became reality.
The next cookbook from the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the Hungry Girl brand! Lisa Lillien is back with her fastest and easiest recipes ever -- each one is ready in 30 minutes or less! With full-color photos of every recipe, Hungry Girl Fast & Easy consists of quick and simple meals & snacks made with everyday ingredients. Get ready for... * sheet-pan recipes * one-pot recipes * stir-frys & skillet meals * salads & slaws * 10-minute power bowls * 5-minute smoothies * 2-ingredient cake mugs ... and so much more! And like all Hungry Girl recipes, the calories counts are small and the portions are large! Hungry Girl Fast & Easy is packed with delicious recipes that you’ll make again and again.
Link to Author Video and Website: http://www.annarichenda.com Sister Georgia lives at the center of a bustling Yorkshire nunnery at the eve of the English Reformation. Yet she is no ordinary nun. Georgia and her sisters follow the ways of the legendary Saint Isela, recording her signs and miracles and preparing for her return. But the archbishop of London, Philip SeVerde, a man rising in Henry VIIIs royal court, cannot bear this wild nunnery of the north. Driven by greed and a lust for power, SeVerde demands that the nuns submit to his control and strict monastic rule. Georgia is persecuted and tortured, yet she refuses to back down. Drawing strength and visions from an ancient relic, Georgia must ensure that her mystical group of nuns survive the meddling of the corrupt archbishop. She must undergo an epic journey and endure, lifetime after lifetime, until the promise of Saint Isela can be fulfilled. It is the story of The Saint and the Fasting Girl.
On a winter's day in 1869, two surgeons performed an autopsy on the body of a 12-year-old Welsh girl who had died in strange circumstances. Though very beautiful, there were signs that she had suffered greatly towards the end. This is the true story of a remarkable child, who enchanted everyone, but who, at the age of 10, suddenly took to her bed. During the last 2 years of her life she allegedly had nothing to eat or drink at all, and yet mysteriously survived. Sarah Jacob's family claimed she was a miracle, and as her fame grew, thousands flocked to her bedside. Was she living on thin air? Doctors felt compelled to investigate and began a round-the-clock vigil which quickly killed her. Sarah Jacob was a tragic child celebrity—a victim of the era in which she lived, when Science and Faith were grappling with the conscience of man.
