Weight of gray scales between diseased and healthy

When someone with an eating disorder shakes off their clinical diagnosis, many feel it They are still far from healthy. Often, the big emotional labor doesn't begin until after the food itself. It can be said that this book is about that. When the author describes the period after the most severe eating disorder problems subsided, thoughts turn to new alcoholics. Then comes the work of learning how to deal with all of life's emotions and setbacks without the help of alcohol. In the same way, the patient, who does not have to resort to hunger, overeating or exercise, stands naked before the world in many ways – forced to learn to live again.

Anna Ehn is a journalist and has suffered from eating disorders for many years. She has previously published several other books on this subject, the most recent of which is “A Mother with an Eating Disorder” in collaboration with Leon Milton. The seeds for this book came from Ian's frustrated question to himself: “Will it never end?” The Path to Health is not a treatment manual, but rather reflective writing. The book's chapters have titles that revolve around themes such as identity, relapse, and associations with perfection and shame. With a great deal of courage — and the will to shed the shame of his eating disorder — Ihn talks about his setbacks in adulthood.

The texts resonate based on her own experiences and interviews she conducted with eight other eating disorder patients. Logic also includes interviews with a few psychologists; Clinically active or research in this field. A recurring question is the turning points question. What could be crucial to breaking negative and unhealthy cycles and making a person move towards a healthier life? One of the book's messages is the importance of seeing gray scales between sick and healthy people.

Move away from the binary approach that is often synonymous with disordered thinking about eating. Instead, Ihn suggests thinking of illness as a spectrum along which you can work toward healthier behavior, healthier thoughts, and healthier eating. She believes that conceptualizing eating disorders in this way gives a better understanding of the disease. They also contribute to reducing the risk of feeling like a failure when your path to health ends up stagnating or suffering setbacks. Despite his somewhat limited subject matter, Ehn has a surprisingly strong motivation in the text. Her prose moves with a dancing ease around serious subject matter.

Celia Svidim, psychologist and literary critic

The Path to Health – Freedom from Eating Disorders
Anna Ehn,
Nature and Culture, 2022