Library Journal Reviews "Beating Ana"

February 15, 2009 issue
www.libraryjournal.com

Cutts, Shannon. Beating ANA: How To Outsmart Your Eating Disorder and Take Your Life Back. Health Communications. Mar. 2009. c.236p. ISBN 978-0-7573-1385-X. pap. $14.95. HEALTH

Cutts brings the authority of knowledge grounded in personal experience to her book, discussing the psychological, even psychic, aspects of the disease nicknamed “ANA” for anorexia. One of the relatively few books addressing the pro-eating disorder phenomenon, the book stresses the acceptance of self as the essential element in healthy rather than disordered eating. Cutts personifies the ED (eating disorder) as a mortal enemy and views recovery as a process rather than a destination. Success, she argues, depends on finding—and eventually becoming—a mentor. Cutts describes her experience with anorexia and then explains how and why an ED develops. She also recommends specific assignments for the reader, including watching 14 different films. Finally, she encounters lapses and pitfalls on the road to recovery with Life Celebration Affirmations and excerpts from email exchanges with her mentees. Four web sites, including her own, are listed as resources. Recommended for public or health-oriented libraries.—Lois K. Merry, Keene State Coll., NH