I want to Hear from You

I couldn’t put this book down. Perfect is beautifully written and very moving. I am certain that this book will help many people affected by anarexia but will also touch a far greater audience than just those who have a connection to this illness. Well done Emily on an absolutely wonderful book x

emily. i could not put this book down. each word is from experience and the heart. i thought it was a lovely touch to allow those closest to you to write their little passage at the end. in some aspects i related to your words completely but i think even those not connected to the illness in any sense would find your book well worth reading.

you should be very proud of yourself-not just for your book.

thank you x

Thank you for this book Emily. I could relate to what you were saying, although not to the same extent, and it really helped me understand what my friends and family had been through. The last chapter in particular really touched me and I was in tears a few times! Congratulations.x

i have just finished your book and thought it was abousltly amazing.
i have anorexia and am just beginning the recovery stage a few days ago. and its been such a struggle so far i feel i cannot go on any further.
but your book has inspired me and your kind words and gone deep within.
i am glad i read this book and read it within 2days of getting it.
it has really made me see nd think into what my family have gone through and how this disease has affected them too.
thank you.
please be in touch it would be such a big help if you could.
but keep strong in the future and you will succeed.
much love
xo

I have been reading your book with my mum, and we were both surprised at the similarities between your story and our own. I am still trying to find my way out of anorexia, and would really really appreciate it if I could talk to you about your experiences, and the ups and downs in your recovery. I think it would help alot to talk to someone who has been in the same situation as me. I hope you are still doing well, and that things are a lot better than they used to be. I can’t wait for that day to come for me! Look forward to hearing from you!

xxx

Dear Emily
I recently read your book as research for a project I am doing in RE about anorexia and I thought it was utterly amazing. I have read books in the past about anorexia and they just seemed really clinical and distant in they way they were written but I was struck by how personal your writing is and how much you let us into your thoughts and situation, I think it’s a very brave thing to do.
I have what psychologists like to call “an unhealthy relationship with food”, I have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder but I think it’s likely that I do have one, or will develop one. By saying that I dont want you to think that I WANT to have an eating disorder, or that I am trying to mirror having one, I am just trying to keep an open mind. As I write this there is a girl using the computer next to me who is eating crisps and it’s making me feel uncomfortable and rather ill and it’s that kind of thing and also what I think about myself that makes an ED a possibility I think.
I would love to talk to you more about your experience and hear your thoughts on my situation, perhaps some of your ideas will be helpful for my RE project?
No pressure though, it’s just a thought.
I hope you are well and happy and continue to be so.
Yours
Amy xXx

Congrats from one ecolint alumn to another!

I am in awe as how you managed to transform these familiar feelings into perfect, flowing, articulate sentences. Your recounting of your experience was raw in its openness and pure honesty.
You know where you grew up? I’m growing up here. Ecolint? My life too.
I feel like we have a connection…well anybody who has undergone this experience does, but even more so when you lived in the same city and went to the same school. My life is measured in numbers. As is my happiness.
I am on the brink of relapsing, I had recently found a way to enjoy food again, and be normal, albeit gaining 5 kg, but now I feel lost, empty and numb. Your book reduced me to tears. You are amazing, and you are so brave.

Dear Emily,
I picked up your book on the way back from visiting my Grandmother and could not put it down. I finished Oxford this year with an appalling degree class thanks to anorexia and am now in a vacuum of threats and tears from parents, boyfriend and friends. I have photocopied Sam’s words at the end for my boyfriend who has suffered far too much. Your book is beautiful and it struck the strongest chord within me. I know there is a problem but from you I know there can be a solution. Thank you x

i have just finished reading your book, and i admire your courage. its almost strange for me to say that, as i feel more than ever in the depths of anorexia, and im not all too sure i want, or can recover. I could particularly relate to the struggles anorexia brought you with your boyfriend. I havent been as fortunate, and i have managed to isolate myself from just about everyone i know, ive created a bubble, protected from everyone, dictated by routine and control.
Despite this, your book brought a glimmer of hope, that maybe one day things will somehow change, and ill reach out and grab that glimmer. I feel your book will make a difference to many. It would be lovely to hear from you.

All the best, x

hi again, im not sure if i got an email from you that i havent been able to read, as i accidentally deleted it in my inbox before i could open it!!! Sorry. x

Dear Emily
I have only just finshed your book about 5 mins ago. I can understand some of your emotion although i am not coming from the anorexic side of it but the ghost that is always apon you that wants you to join them again deep down inside the pit of hell , the place that you have been figthing so long. Its really powerful to see that though writing your story it helps others who may not be going or have been where you are but no what it is like to scream stop and just ask someone to help.

Really proud of what you have done to help many to come

Love Ash xx

I love this book.

It is written in a way people can understand. I found out about “Perfect” after reading an article in my mum’s magazine. A few people i know have been affected by this cancer of the soul, and i wanted to read a real persons story of how they coped. I found it.

It’s amazing how you’re using your own story to help others. You truly are an inspiration.

Becky xxx

http://flickr.com/photos/minka/2775122820/

xxxx

I’ve just read your book, and have put a post-it note highlighting all the letters in the back - one for my mother to read, one for my father to read. Of course, that means sending the book between countries, but it is so worth it.

Thank you for finding a way to write about this that makes people able to understand it, and putting into words what I could never hope to. Unlike you, I battle to articulate any emotions, and always sound as though I’m giving a formal presentation when I do, but this is perfect. What really struck me is your strength and determination, and how I could read it and think “Look, that little fighter in there can win, this god-awful voice in me doesn’t have to control everything!”.

I was recently diagnosed with anorexia, after fooling them once and managing to dodge any medical examinations, and escaping the system completely another time through cancelling appointments and such. After three years, I find myself thinking that I’m 17, I have my entire life ahead of me, and this is the proof of what I can accomplish. I can reach out to others, and help them, just as you have done me, and so others. Thank you for being such an inspiration.

i’m half way through reading your book and its like reading my life everything you say is exactly like me.your book is giving me hope that one day i’ll be able to follow my dream in becoming a ballet dancer at 25 i really want my life back after suffering for 9 yrs from this horrid illness.i’ts not easy but you’ve given me hope.if you have any extra advice i’d love to here from you.thankyou for making a great book big hugs laura

I am much older than you but am in the midst of ana-thank you for helping me to feel that I’m not alone in the way I feel.

I have commented before, but I’ve returned to thank you once again.

My mother left my younger sister and I at home for a week while she was out the country, and during that, I abused her trust, and felt awful. I sunk to new lows, and it was particularly painful when I came back and my mother hugged me, and said “I hoped there’d be more to you.” It’s difficult describing to her what this is like, and I’m trying to persuade her to read the book, but she’s finding it far too difficult to cope at the moment with all the stress.

So, in light of this, I decided to read it again for myself. I put myself in the shoes of every perspective the letters came from, and felt their pain and support. I photocopied the piece about recovery being difficult, stuck it in a book I take everywhere with me, and if I have difficult getting down my intended meal, I will take it out and read it time and again.

Also, reading others messages on here makes it feel as though I’m not alone, and that - I think - is sometimes what we need most. I fear for my sister leaving in the shadow of her older sister’s pains, and it’s now for her I’m doing this.

Sorry for such a large post, and congradulations once again for your engagement! I wish you two all the best =)

Dear Emily
I have just finished reading your book. It was fantastic but almost slightly eary as so much ringed true to me and so much was so so similar to my experiences. I have never, until now, come across somebody who has written a book on the ’subject’ which I have felt in touch with, where I have felt they understand my head (and perhaps helped me understand my head!), where I do not feel a freak, where I can feel almost reassured that it is an actual illness and not what many others may think. I have suffered from anorexia for 19 years but I am now proud to say that I am well on the road to recovery having attained a better weight and having a more logic mental process ( infact the two came hand in hand). I have also had many up and downs but hopefully each up brings a stronger person.
I do so so so hope that you are still doing well, a smile is firmly present and your eyes are sparkling. I have never met you but I know you are a wonderful person who deserves to be happy and free.
Stay happy, enjoy life and keep laughing.
Big hugs and lots of smiles,
Anna
xxx

Dear emily,
I read your book last week and found it to be one of the best books out there on this subject. I have suffered with eating disorders for 10 years mainly anorexia and always felt that the only people who can truly understand are the ones who have suffered themselves! So in writing your book you gave me comfort and took away some of feelings of being alone that anorexia brings! I liked the fact that you acknoledged that gaining weight does not magically cure the disease in your mind! so many people think if you put on weight you are instantly cured!For me everyday is a battle of feelings! And the guilty feelings and wanting of perfection you spoke of are exactly how i feel. I just wanted to thankyou for letting people like me know that we are not alone. A fantastic book, well done, best wishes for the future, hope you are planning to write a second?! abby x x

Dear Emily,

I read your book a while ago and it really touched me. I was in a different place to where I am now so I was thinking about the suggestions you put at the back for further reading in relation to healthy eating. My own book has somehow gone missing but would be grateful if you could remind me of one of books you suggested?

Many Thanks
Jo x

hi emily,

i just wanted to say i loved your book and i think you are an inspiration for beating this and getting on with your life. you are a beautiful girl and you will go so far i wish i had yur will and strength, after suffering for 11 years, i am still entrenched but you have given me some hope. i would love to hear from you, if you can.

love, happiness, for always…

Vickie x