Description
Book SynopsisPresents an alternative approach to anorexia, long considered the epitome of a Western obsession with individualism, beauty, self-control, and autonomy. Through detailed ethnographic investigations, this book looks at the heart of what it means to live with anorexia on a daily basis.
Trade Review"Warin has taken the topic of anorexia, which many of us feel that we know something about, and brilliantly cast a whole new light on it. Through vivid ethnography and evocative prose, she ensures that you won't think about anorexia or those affected by it in quite the same way ever again."— C. H. Browner, UCLA School of Medicine
"Anthropologist Megan Warin combines rich multi-sited ethnographic research on anorexic women's lived experiences with a sophisticated theoretical approach based on concepts of abjection and relatedness to offer fascinating and original insights into anorexia nervosa."— Carole M. Counihan, author of The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power
"Warin's book is an experientially grounded, theoretically sophisticated, and accessible account of anorexia that is unique and compelling."— Signs
"An intensive, wide-ranging study, the author investigates the meanings of anorexia and the everyday lives of those who suffer from it. Warin offers a brilliant study that departs from conventional psychotherapeutic perspectives and places anorexia in an intriguing sociocultural context. Highly recommended."— Choice
Table of Contents1 Introduction
2 Steering a Course Between Fields
3 Knowing Through the Body
4 'True Anas' and Outside Anorexics
5 Abject Relations with Food
6 'Me and My Disgusting Body'
7 Be-coming Clean
8 Conclusions and Future Directions
Notes
Bibliography
Index
