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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I was really excited to pick up this book and learn a little about Portia de Rossi's life. I love reading autobiographies because I get first hand account of what is really going on emotionally and mentally in a person. But after a few chapters I couldn't decide if I liked this book or loathed it. I felt extremely anxious reading chapter through chapter because de Rossi would be so detailed about her life in terms of her eating habits. She had so many restrictions with foods and counting calories to a precise measurement that I felt overwhelmed with all these restrains. Day after day for years and years she would live her life in "yo-yo" diets always counting calories and being acutely particular with her intake of food. The imagery she lays out was so vivid to me that her words made me stressful and anxious while reading because it felt like I was there making all these decisions and keeping track of every little thing I ate.
I then realized that I loved this book because de Rossi wrote this book with the intent of giving the reader the feeling that she felt for years. That stress, anxiety, and loneliness controlled her life and I felt her feelings as I read word for word. Granted, the book doesn't exactly follow a precise timeline of her life, but the overall message is clearly sent. The epilogue really brought together her whole book. And although this isn't labeled as a self-help book, learning the accounts of what she went through and her concluding epilogue made me feel like it was and it provided a new perspective.
I then realized that I loved this book because de Rossi wrote this book with the intent of giving the reader the feeling that she felt for years. That stress, anxiety, and loneliness controlled her life and I felt her feelings as I read word for word. Granted, the book doesn't exactly follow a precise timeline of her life, but the overall message is clearly sent. The epilogue really brought together her whole book. And although this isn't labeled as a self-help book, learning the accounts of what she went through and her concluding epilogue made me feel like it was and it provided a new perspective.
Read a few reviews of this book which mentioned it was well written and I'm an Ellen fan, so figured what the heck! It's summer, need light stuff. ;)
It is easy to read, quite fast. Sad to see how such a beautiful woman can absolutely brutalize herself emotionally, but very brave of her to tell her story and try to help others.
It is easy to read, quite fast. Sad to see how such a beautiful woman can absolutely brutalize herself emotionally, but very brave of her to tell her story and try to help others.
A little hard to get into, but this book was very good. I don’t normally read memoirs but this one was fascinating - de Rossi’s struggle with various eating disorders was sad and enthralling - I could definitely relate to the body image issues. I wish there was more detail about her recovery, but overall it was a really interesting book.
http://dsbs42.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/unbearable-lightness-review/
This was a tough read - de Rossi is brutally honest about her life and her struggles with different eating disorders and her own self-acceptance.
I appreciate her honesty and hope that it helps connect with those out there who need to hear it. I hope it inspires others in some way, but for me, it was all just okay. The story starts in her childhood in Australia as she becomes interested in and begins modeling and follows her into her twenties when she has become an actress and is even starring in a new movie. The entire story is her struggle - the in-depth details of her binging and purging, her starvation, her skewed sense of reality. I kept waiting for the "recovery". Yet the book ended with her "rock bottom" and then a lengthy epilogue glosses over her attempt and final attainment of recovery. It was very unbalanced for me. I'm guessing maybe there wasn't as much recovery to go over at the time she wrote the book, but it would have made it a much stronger piece had it shown in equal parts the fall and the rise back up. I think there are so many people out there who could benefit from that version of this memoir.
Several times I found myself thinking it wouldn't be a good read for those already struggling or maybe on the fence about their self-worth and weight. She calls herself "fat" when weighing in at 98 pounds and talks about being able to grip her hip bones and see a huge gap between her thighs while lying sideways, but again, still talks of being "fat". Now, I understand this is the mindset, this is where the eating disorder takes hold and the skewed perception reigns, but that is why it is so important to show the flip side. To show the recovery. Otherwise, a reader is somewhat left with the feeling that those skewed perceptions are real and maybe even still de Rossi's belief and struggle (and maybe they are, again, another good reason for more development on the "after" part of the story).
Secondly, I felt like her sexual orientation, though a pivotal point in her self-worth issues and eating disorders, was treated minimally and even somewhat glossed over. She'd throw it in every now and then just to remind readers that she was indeed gay, but again, never really gave it true face-time. It was hundreds of pages of strife and then thirty-ish pages of now I'm outed, married, and at a healthy weight (and oh, by the way I don't eat animals anymore)!
In summary, I think her honesty was brave and probably very hard. I'm guessing it was monumental in her own recovery, but the lack of after story or recovery story left everything kind of hanging and awkward in my opinion.
I appreciate her honesty and hope that it helps connect with those out there who need to hear it. I hope it inspires others in some way, but for me, it was all just okay. The story starts in her childhood in Australia as she becomes interested in and begins modeling and follows her into her twenties when she has become an actress and is even starring in a new movie. The entire story is her struggle - the in-depth details of her binging and purging, her starvation, her skewed sense of reality. I kept waiting for the "recovery". Yet the book ended with her "rock bottom" and then a lengthy epilogue glosses over her attempt and final attainment of recovery. It was very unbalanced for me. I'm guessing maybe there wasn't as much recovery to go over at the time she wrote the book, but it would have made it a much stronger piece had it shown in equal parts the fall and the rise back up. I think there are so many people out there who could benefit from that version of this memoir.
Several times I found myself thinking it wouldn't be a good read for those already struggling or maybe on the fence about their self-worth and weight. She calls herself "fat" when weighing in at 98 pounds and talks about being able to grip her hip bones and see a huge gap between her thighs while lying sideways, but again, still talks of being "fat". Now, I understand this is the mindset, this is where the eating disorder takes hold and the skewed perception reigns, but that is why it is so important to show the flip side. To show the recovery. Otherwise, a reader is somewhat left with the feeling that those skewed perceptions are real and maybe even still de Rossi's belief and struggle (and maybe they are, again, another good reason for more development on the "after" part of the story).
Secondly, I felt like her sexual orientation, though a pivotal point in her self-worth issues and eating disorders, was treated minimally and even somewhat glossed over. She'd throw it in every now and then just to remind readers that she was indeed gay, but again, never really gave it true face-time. It was hundreds of pages of strife and then thirty-ish pages of now I'm outed, married, and at a healthy weight (and oh, by the way I don't eat animals anymore)!
In summary, I think her honesty was brave and probably very hard. I'm guessing it was monumental in her own recovery, but the lack of after story or recovery story left everything kind of hanging and awkward in my opinion.
This is one of the most feminist books I have read thus far. Very subtly so I must add. It was a page-turner: painful, crazy, sad and oh-so-familiar. I am certain there are too many women (and men) out there who have struggled with some form of eating disorder or who have watched a friend or a loved one lose themselves in the grips of that disease. This book is like a punch in the gut, a reminder of how people can get off the rails and still endlessly justify things in their minds. But a word of caution: this book might provoke some self-concious youngsters to try and challenge themselves as Portia did; since there is some toying with the idea of anorexia being the ultimate feat of will power and no major consequences suffered in the end...
I'm glad I had a chance to read Portia's unbelievable story and reassured that even the most mind-boggling mental disturbances can be healed with love.
I'm glad I had a chance to read Portia's unbelievable story and reassured that even the most mind-boggling mental disturbances can be healed with love.
“Anorexia was never something I thought I could have. Not just anyone could have anorexia. It was a disorder of the highly accomplished, beautiful cultured. It belonged to models, singers and Princess Diana. I had always been secretly in awe of anorexics with their super human restraint. There is neatness to it, a perfection”
All stories about eating disorders are sad ones but the extra burden of hiding your sexuality while being under the magnifying glass of the Hollywood paparazzi made it just that much worse.
There is a definite point where a diet becomes a disorder but it’s such a gradual thing that the person wrapped up in the process does not see it.
I used to live around the corner from a well-known convenience chain and when I went there I regularly saw a particular woman and her emaciated teenage daughter walking slowly down the aisles, stopping to study the food labels and more often than not put the food back on the rack. It would break my heart to see the desperation of the woman in getting her daughter to agree to put something in the cart.
There is no doubt our whole society has a skewed view on beauty and what constitutes the perfect female form.
To be honest I didn’t expect much when I started this and as I got this on loan I thought what the heck it’s a short audio I may as well try it. Portia does not shy away from the ugliness of her disease and her honest and articulate way of writing was enjoyable. I do feel however that a little more time could have been spent on her recovery but I think the goal of writing this was really to put down the destruction of her disease rather than how she overcame it.
All stories about eating disorders are sad ones but the extra burden of hiding your sexuality while being under the magnifying glass of the Hollywood paparazzi made it just that much worse.
There is a definite point where a diet becomes a disorder but it’s such a gradual thing that the person wrapped up in the process does not see it.
I used to live around the corner from a well-known convenience chain and when I went there I regularly saw a particular woman and her emaciated teenage daughter walking slowly down the aisles, stopping to study the food labels and more often than not put the food back on the rack. It would break my heart to see the desperation of the woman in getting her daughter to agree to put something in the cart.
There is no doubt our whole society has a skewed view on beauty and what constitutes the perfect female form.
To be honest I didn’t expect much when I started this and as I got this on loan I thought what the heck it’s a short audio I may as well try it. Portia does not shy away from the ugliness of her disease and her honest and articulate way of writing was enjoyable. I do feel however that a little more time could have been spent on her recovery but I think the goal of writing this was really to put down the destruction of her disease rather than how she overcame it.
Eye-opening read into the life of an anorexic actress. She was open and honest and shared her struggles and while I can't understand someone putting themselves through that, I can appreciate her honesty and her willingness, in the end, to get help.
She weighed 89 lbs?!?!? I could never understand how someone could become anorexic. Now I know. Insane. Many times I thought she gave way too many details, but I think overall the details were needed to really illustrate her decent into hell. I read this in one night; couldn't put it down as I had to see when she figured out she wasn't fat and that this was going to kill her.
I received this book as a Christmas present a few years after I thought I had conquered my eating disorder. This book helped me to realize I still had work to do but that it was completely possible and that I would be OK.