I'm working on reading more of these so that I can provide a more descriptive and organized list.
Please bare with me and my mess...
If you've read any of these books and want to share a review, or if you have other books to suggest,
please let me know.books about recovery :
click on the title to read more at amazon.com° Sensing the Self : Women's Recovery From Bulimia by Sheila Reindl° Appetites : Why Women Want by Caroline Knapp
° Why Weight? A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating by Geneen Roth. I found this book helpful when I was trying to end the binge/starve/purge cycles without going to therapy of any kind. Some of it is a little cheesy. I’ve heard that some people are hesitant to use these books because they don’t consider themselves “compulsive eaters,” or they aren’t overweight/obese, or whatever. These are definitely some of the qualities Roth anticipates in her readers, but her exercises are often open enough that anyone with eating issues could find them helpful. I think this is a very good intro-to-recovery book for anyone whose life revolves around eating behaviors.
° Breaking Free From Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth
° When Food Is Love : Exploring the Relationship Between Eating and Intimacy by Geneen Roth
° Appetites : On the Search for True Nourishment by Geneen Roth
° The Craggy Hole in My Heart and the Cat Who Fixed It by Geneen Roth
° The Quest for Peace, Love and a 24" Waist by Deborah Low
° It's Not About Food : Change Your Mind; Change Your Life; End Your Obsession With Food and Weight by Carol Emery Normandy and Laurelee Roark
° The Hunger Within: A Twelve Week Guided Journey from Compulsive Eating to Recovery by Marilyn Migliore
° When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies : Freeing Yourself from Food and Weight Obsession
° Life Inside The Thin Cage : A Personal Look into the Hidden World of the Chronic Dieter by Constance Rhodes. This is a book for people new to recovery who have 'over-dieted.' Ms. Rhodes uses her own experiences and ideas about the culture of females in the western world to help people who feel desperate to look perfect understand and start to change their behavior. This is an inspiring book that got me going with independent recovery, but I don't remember using it as a workbook or recovery companion.
° Reviving Ophelia : Saving The Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher, PhD
° The Body Project : An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg
° Am I Thin Enough Yet? The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity by Sharlene Hesse-Biber
° A Return To Modesty by Wendy Shalit
° The Anorexia Workbook : How to Accept Yourself, Heal Your Suffering, and Reclaim Your Life by Michelle Heffner and Georg H. Eifert
° Slim to None : A Journey Through the Wasteland of Anorexia Treatment by Jennifer Hendricks
° Anorexics on Anorexia by Rosemary Shelley
° Bulimia : Hunger For Freedom by Katie Gesto
° Life Without Ed : How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too by Jenni Schaefer
° Biting the Hand That Starves You : Inspiring Resistance to Anorexia/Bulimia by Richard Maisel, David Epston, Ali Borden
° The Beauty Myth : How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf
° Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. I found this book to be extremely helpful. It provides a thorough (but not overly academic) explanation of how foods and sugars can affect moods and energy levels. There were a few times when I felt it was a little too non-academic, but for anyone who doesn't have a strong background in science or nutrition, this could be infinitely helpful. Dr. DesMaisons includes a well-rounded plan for easing off of sugars and dealing with sugar addiction; the plan itself is similar to The Zone's approach. I haven't done the Zone, but remember others' eating very specific Zone "Diets," whereas DesMaison's plan is very flexible and realistic: she knows you won't be able to pre-plan and perfect every meal, and she clearly addresses how to deal with dinners at restaurants and other potentially-upsetting situations. I highly recommend this book!