Skin and Bones is the first fiction book I’ve read which tackles the delicate subject of eating disorders and Sherry Shahan nails it! Personally, I am a 20+ yr ED survivor with 24 weeks total in-patient treatment and countless more outpatient. A speaker and advocate for ED awareness, I believe Shahan’s Skin and Bones MUST be placed in every middle school, high school and public library! This is so incredibly authentic, without being dry and academic.
Sherry Shahan really has a gift with words and a knack for being able to leave the reader hanging at the close of every chapter. Because they are short chapters, I kept saying, “One more! One more!” and then when I was so close to the end, I stayed up till midnight to finish it. I was so engaged and hopeful for a different ending, but she brought about the heartbreaking truth.
I felt a lot of emotion when I reached the last page– so angry at this deceiving disease, which I am so grateful to have survived. I also felt that familiar helpless feeling that is inevitable when you know someone struggling with an eating disorder who cannot see reality and does not yet want to get better. I highly recommend this book for family members and friends to take a deep look inside the mind of disordered eating.
Shahan’s PR firm provided a copy for me to review, which I have since donated to the Eating Disorder Coalition of TN for their library. Click to read more about Sherry: http://www.sherryshahan.com/
