Light: A Mother and Daughter Memoir of Anorexia

Up to one in ten will die from anorexia. But Nancy Levine and her daughter Rachel didn't know this when the disease slowly-then all too quickly-took root.While studying abroad, Rachel begins a new passion: running along the golden beaches of the coastal Australian town Surfer's Paradise. Each day she feels stronger and can run further. She also gives up the typical college junk food diet of sweets, pizza, and french fries. Tanned and muscular, her family thinks she looks healthy and fabulous. They don't notice that running and her "healthy diet" are slowly controlling her life. Light is a story of obsession and OCD, family history and stigma, and Rachel's battle with life-threatening anorexia. Once called the "sickest of the sick," Rachel fought to recover, with her mother and family by her side. Narrated by Nancy with excerpts and journal entries from Rachel before, during, and after treatment, this memoir explores how the deadly inner voice of an eating disorder is heard, treated, and finally silenced. Blending tough scenes with humorous ones, this unique and brave book celebrates hope and lasting recovery.