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kyouwa_today's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Freeman is so well read! The descriptions of food in fiction are fascinating. I loved this journey through food in literature as well as biography, reliving some of the stories that I have read. Freeman’s description of her mental illness were clear and concise- it was great to see what happens after the recovery and the difficulty that continues with eating and the Jaberwocky, the voices that continue. Loved how she drew strength from what she read - so that she may continue on.
cerim's review against another edition
3.0
The writing here is stunning but something just didn’t quite hit the mark for me - I have a strained relationship with food myself and genuinely found some of the passages here quite a slog to get through.
stephaniekali's review against another edition
4.0
Well this made me feel less alone. It’s like she was inside my head
booknooksandcrochethooks's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
marthaos's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book by chance in our beautiful new library and since I love books about reading and bibliophiles, I was drawn to it. The content about how reading restored this author’s appetite appealed to me too on a personal level so I was full of anticipation as I checked it out.
I was not disappointed.
The way the writer wove her story around the books that she read, the way she revealed her story in increments while engaging with the books and writers was very cleverly done, authentic and real, while still maintaining some distance and authority. She wrote about them and how they, little by little, had a very positive influence on her, helping her to taste, to try new things, and eventually to reclaim her life.
Beginning with Dickens, and covering such writers as Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, Laurie Lee, Elizabeth David, Virginia Woolf, she describes how each, in their descriptions of food, whether fiction or non-fiction, helped her to see food differently, understand the necessity of food but more importantly to enjoy food, so as well as nourishing the body, it’s a pleasurable experience in and of itself and allows the writers to live their lives wholly and heartily and to offer solace in times of strife.
The author, Freeman, details her journey through anorexia beginning from the young age of 15, or perhaps even younger, and how it impacted her life. Her restriction of food made her body so weak that she was restricted from living a normal life, and endured enforced bed rest for a year. While her appetite of food and arguably of life decreased, what never decreased, and perhaps even grew, was her voracious appetite for books. I loved how she described the joy that books gave her, the anticipation of going to a library or bookseller and coming home with a feast of books.
To her credit, she gets her life somewhat back on track, eating enough to finish her education, take her through college and land a job with a newspaper. However, her intake was still very low and restricted and this obviously had an effect on her social life, her travel, her joy, fulfilment and dreams.
The lavish feasts described in the Dickens novels were something of a wonder to her, and she marvelled at what food could be, the possibilities for warming a body, connecting souls and being a source of such joy. Sassoon helps her reintroduce boiled eggs through his sumptuous description of the humble egg, Woolf helps her see the comfort that tea and cake from a cake shop can offer on a rainy day as well as seeing the myriad possibilities of various cuts of meat. Her rereading of Harry Potter brings back memories of her and her brother’s fascination of the amazing descriptions of chocolate and sweet treats, and again the connecting power of food when these are shared with Ron. She describes her own sharing of an experience with her friend Andy after a walk on the mountains; her ability to eat the same sandwich that he ordered and to indulge and enjoy just as he did gave the day even more meaning than sticking to some routine safe food would have done.
She describes the craziness of the modern food industry, the obsession with “clean eating” and the marketing strategies to encourage gluten free, wheat free, meat free, dairy free which can only result in confusion and misery. As her own repertoire of meals and acceptable foods expand, this whole healthism fad could bring her back to square one if she jumped on that bandwagon. Luckily, she is so far along by that stage, and bolstered with her writer companions’
and now her own experiences of food, she rejects this and continues on her way.
I found this book so good, so engaging and relatable. I found it very honest and her descriptions of the books so erudite. I was amazed by her ability to read and engage so thoroughly during her illness but am so glad she did for the sake of her recovery and so that she could produce such a great book and continue to pursue her areas of interest, and write about them.
I was not disappointed.
The way the writer wove her story around the books that she read, the way she revealed her story in increments while engaging with the books and writers was very cleverly done, authentic and real, while still maintaining some distance and authority. She wrote about them and how they, little by little, had a very positive influence on her, helping her to taste, to try new things, and eventually to reclaim her life.
Beginning with Dickens, and covering such writers as Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, Laurie Lee, Elizabeth David, Virginia Woolf, she describes how each, in their descriptions of food, whether fiction or non-fiction, helped her to see food differently, understand the necessity of food but more importantly to enjoy food, so as well as nourishing the body, it’s a pleasurable experience in and of itself and allows the writers to live their lives wholly and heartily and to offer solace in times of strife.
The author, Freeman, details her journey through anorexia beginning from the young age of 15, or perhaps even younger, and how it impacted her life. Her restriction of food made her body so weak that she was restricted from living a normal life, and endured enforced bed rest for a year. While her appetite of food and arguably of life decreased, what never decreased, and perhaps even grew, was her voracious appetite for books. I loved how she described the joy that books gave her, the anticipation of going to a library or bookseller and coming home with a feast of books.
To her credit, she gets her life somewhat back on track, eating enough to finish her education, take her through college and land a job with a newspaper. However, her intake was still very low and restricted and this obviously had an effect on her social life, her travel, her joy, fulfilment and dreams.
The lavish feasts described in the Dickens novels were something of a wonder to her, and she marvelled at what food could be, the possibilities for warming a body, connecting souls and being a source of such joy. Sassoon helps her reintroduce boiled eggs through his sumptuous description of the humble egg, Woolf helps her see the comfort that tea and cake from a cake shop can offer on a rainy day as well as seeing the myriad possibilities of various cuts of meat. Her rereading of Harry Potter brings back memories of her and her brother’s fascination of the amazing descriptions of chocolate and sweet treats, and again the connecting power of food when these are shared with Ron. She describes her own sharing of an experience with her friend Andy after a walk on the mountains; her ability to eat the same sandwich that he ordered and to indulge and enjoy just as he did gave the day even more meaning than sticking to some routine safe food would have done.
She describes the craziness of the modern food industry, the obsession with “clean eating” and the marketing strategies to encourage gluten free, wheat free, meat free, dairy free which can only result in confusion and misery. As her own repertoire of meals and acceptable foods expand, this whole healthism fad could bring her back to square one if she jumped on that bandwagon. Luckily, she is so far along by that stage, and bolstered with her writer companions’
and now her own experiences of food, she rejects this and continues on her way.
I found this book so good, so engaging and relatable. I found it very honest and her descriptions of the books so erudite. I was amazed by her ability to read and engage so thoroughly during her illness but am so glad she did for the sake of her recovery and so that she could produce such a great book and continue to pursue her areas of interest, and write about them.
rachana's review
5.0
This book is a tremendous gift. There was something deeply satisfying about sitting down to read this with hot cups of oat milk and dark chocolate or with a dinner of warm pasta drowned in Parmesan cheese and white sauce.
It was the reference to the Edge Chronicles and the harvests from the Deepwoods that finally brought on a wave of nostalgia. I had read that series years ago craving earth apples and delberries. I was obsessed with the escape it gave me as a kid.
And there are so many beautiful, wonderful quotes in here:
'This is what Mum had tried to tell me. That eating would allow me to pursue the things I loved.'
'She wanted only for me to have enough energy to read books, go to school, then to university, to have friends...to sketch, to walk in the park, travel abroad, to have a life worth living.'
'When I read, when I walk, when I am taken out of myself I am quiet, my mind is steady.'
It was the reference to the Edge Chronicles and the harvests from the Deepwoods that finally brought on a wave of nostalgia. I had read that series years ago craving earth apples and delberries. I was obsessed with the escape it gave me as a kid.
And there are so many beautiful, wonderful quotes in here:
'This is what Mum had tried to tell me. That eating would allow me to pursue the things I loved.'
'She wanted only for me to have enough energy to read books, go to school, then to university, to have friends...to sketch, to walk in the park, travel abroad, to have a life worth living.'
'When I read, when I walk, when I am taken out of myself I am quiet, my mind is steady.'