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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
Starvation Heights: The Chilling True Story of the Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death by Gregg Olsen
3 reviews
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The narration was amazing for a non-fiction book. The book also kept me interested and engaged. I would have liked to know what happened with the sisters' estate in more clear terms. I'm shocked but not that this woman was never truly stopped. It's horrifying.
As someone who's struggled with disordered eating, I know how little function you have when you limit calories to an extreme. So I can understand how she manipulated people when their brains weren't functioning properly. When you're not getting enough food your body shuts down complex thoughts and the like, to direct calories/nutrition to essential tasks like breathing.
Overall a very interesting and horrifying book.
As someone who's struggled with disordered eating, I know how little function you have when you limit calories to an extreme. So I can understand how she manipulated people when their brains weren't functioning properly. When you're not getting enough food your body shuts down complex thoughts and the like, to direct calories/nutrition to essential tasks like breathing.
Overall a very interesting and horrifying book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
swalk's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.75
In 1910 Linda Burrfield Hazzard is the foremost Fasting Specialist in Tacoma. She advertises herself as an expert in fasting & dietic care, which can be utilised as the cure for any ailment, mental, physical, and moral.
Wealthy British heiresses Dora & Claire Williamson are living in America when they discover one of Hazzard’s books. Becoming enthralled by the concepts and having some minor illness, they decide to write to the specialist for advice. By 1911 both women have agreed to go to her sanitarium - Wilderness Heights for intensive treatment to be transformed into peak physical health.
Once under Hazzard’s care for some time, the specialist began to tell many of her patients that she should be responsible for storing their valuables and land deeds for safekeeping, She was also in charge of their communications, essentially cutting them off from the outside world and taking charge of all property and affairs.
Whilst this is obviously an excellently researched book, retelling the devastating stories of people under the care of Linda Hazzard. I feel like it is much longer than necessary with quite a few inane details and repeats included. In my opinion it would be better if it was edited down to at most 2/3 the length.
The narrator is reasonably good, but has some rather questionable accents.
Wealthy British heiresses Dora & Claire Williamson are living in America when they discover one of Hazzard’s books. Becoming enthralled by the concepts and having some minor illness, they decide to write to the specialist for advice. By 1911 both women have agreed to go to her sanitarium - Wilderness Heights for intensive treatment to be transformed into peak physical health.
Once under Hazzard’s care for some time, the specialist began to tell many of her patients that she should be responsible for storing their valuables and land deeds for safekeeping, She was also in charge of their communications, essentially cutting them off from the outside world and taking charge of all property and affairs.
Whilst this is obviously an excellently researched book, retelling the devastating stories of people under the care of Linda Hazzard. I feel like it is much longer than necessary with quite a few inane details and repeats included. In my opinion it would be better if it was edited down to at most 2/3 the length.
The narrator is reasonably good, but has some rather questionable accents.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Physical abuse
faefires's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.0
the story behind this book is riveting, full of scheming and mystery, and for the first third of the book, it is told very well. unfortunately, this book could have benefited from being 150 pages shorter. it drags in the middle as the reader is forced to sit through painfully detailed trial testimony that is only tangentially relevant, and extensive histories of side characters. the story is certainly chilling, and the writing is strong, but the pacing made me skim and wish i had just listened to a true crime podcast covering this instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcoholism