The Year I Didn’t Eat - A Grueling Inner Battle
Robert Gao
The Year I Didn’t Eat Synopsis
Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight loss, can wreak havoc on even the strongest of wills. In The Year I Didn’t Eat, the novel’s protagonist Max Howarth struggles with this eating disorder, which imposes consequences on all aspects of his life. Suffering from a dysfunctional household, a lack of dependable companions. and little to confide in, Max is forced to grapple with a life-changing disorder during a highly tumultuous period of his life.
To cope with his condition, Max writes emotionally turbulent journal entries who he addresses to “Ana”, the name he calls his disorder. The only person in his life who Max is able to confide in is his brother Robin, but after he moves out, the shattered boy is left with nothing but a journal and a dangerously low BMI index. Max’s distrust and lack of transparency with his anorexia therapist along with the ensuing divorce of his parents because of little progress made to his disorder inflict devastating physical and mental consequences on his overall health.
In this heartfelt, captivating novel by Samuel Pollen, readers follow the journey of a 14-year old piecing broken shards of his life, who has little reinforcements but his condition itself. Through Pollen’s own experiences of dealing with eating disorders and raw, tender eloquence, he fully encapsulates the inner emotions one with a bulimic disorder experiences and leaves an enduring note of satisfaction and the strength to battle and overcome one’s obstacles.
Thanks for writing this, this book sounds really interesting! This synopsis really makes me wonder how Max would be able to deal with his challenges, it definitely makes me want to read this book. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWOW!! This book sounds really good! I think anorexia is a really serious topic more people should inform themselves about and this book looks like a great start. Great job describing the plot in your synopsis, I definitely will be reading this book soon!
ReplyDeleteAnorexia is not as well represented in literature as some other conditions. This seems to be a good depiction of the struggles someone with anorexia would have, and it is summarized very succinctly. I'll be sure to check it out!
ReplyDeletethis book is on a serious topic I believe doesn't receive enough attention. Max sounds like he's going through a lot, and this book sounds like it describes the thought process of someone struggling with anorexia vividly which is necessary to progress on issues like these. Your synopsis definitely makes me want to read this book!
ReplyDeleteWOW, OH MY GOSH!! This is such a good blog post! I believe that the term "eating disorder" is not spoken of that often, leaving people confused when they first hear about it. I feel as though people should know more about this topic and this book is a great way to inform people. Eating disorders are no joke, especially anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a serious illness that brings extreme food restriction and malnourishment from fear of gaining weight. Eating disorders count up to 10,200 deaths per year, yet many are still uninformed.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you chose a super unique book! I don't think that I have ever came across a book like this before. Gaining a better understanding of things like eating disorder and other mental illnesses has been interesting to me for a while, and reading this book seems like a great way to learn. Great blog post Robert!
ReplyDeleteGreat book review, this seems like an interesting book. The book is quite unique as it shows how serious anorexia and other similar eating disorders can be. The book seems like a good way to educate people on anorexia while being interesting at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow. Both the book itself and your description of this book are just so intriguing. Your way with prose and weaving meaning into words and sentences is simply marvelous, and it really made me feel as if I was in your shoes, and I had read the book as well. I may just check this book later at some point.
ReplyDelete