Community Resources for Children and Teens: Eating Disorders

Originally trying to lose only a few pounds, seventeen-year-old Emily's weight loss spins out of control as she develops eating disorders until she decides that trusting in God and her friends can help her regain her health.

"Rainie's grades were slipping. Good grades were a lifetime ago. Back when her dad was around. Before her mom's boyfriend started hanging out at their house. Commenting on her figure. Looking her up and down. Before she decided to stop eating. Become invisible. Her friends were alarmed especially Joss. She knew times were tough for Rainie's family. But she felt there was more going on. Something serious. And she was going to figure it out"

Seventeen-year-old Sethie, a senior at New York City's Franklin White girl's school, has outstanding grades, a boyfriend, and a new best friend but constantly struggles to lose weight.

"Anorexia, bulimia signal a troubled body and soul" cried a headline in USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper. These serious eating disorders plague people of all ages, but mostly adolescent girls. Untreated, anorexia and bulimia can be life-threatening. Even when the diseases are diagnosed and treated, the road to recovery is difficult and sometimes lasts a lifetime.

Obsessive-compulsive teen Clarissa wants to get better, if only so her mother will stop asking her if she's okay. Andrew wants to overcome his eating disorder so he can get back to his band and their dreams of becoming famous. Film aficionado Ben would rather live in the movies than in reality. Gorgeous and overly confident Mason thinks everyone is an idiot. And Stella just doesn't want to be back for her second summer of wilderness therapy. As the five teens get to know one another and work to overcome the various disorders that have affected their lives, they find themselves forming bonds they never thought they would, discovering new truths about themselves and actually looking forward to the future.

Like most kids, Katie was a picky eater. She'd sit at the table in silent protest, hide uneaten toast in her bedroom, listen to parental threats that she'd have to eat it for breakfast. But in any life a set of circumstance can collide, and normal behavior might soon shade into something sinister, something deadly. Lighter Than My Shadow is a hand-drawn story of struggle and recovery, a trip into the black heart of a taboo illness, an exposure of those who are so weak as to prey on the vulnerable, and an inspiration to anybody who believes in the human power to endure towards happiness. This book is recommended for teens and adults.