amandaaurigemma's review against another edition
5.0
Memorable Quotes:
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I will always have to strive, to stress, to justify the 'being'
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A soul can still drown in a healthy body
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But where do you begin to salvage self-worth and recover yourself, when you simply don't have any reasons to like yourself beyond your disorder?
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Dreaming is underrated, I think, so often dismissed as a fanciful, childish, passive activity for immature people not rooted in reality. But sometimes, reality is truly unbearable, not worth enduring, and dreaming offers the only way out of it: a light in impenetrable darkness, even if it's an illusory one you conjured by your imagination
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I know recovery is often described as a battle, a fierce, gritty struggle, and it is in many ways, but I don't know that that is the most helpful metaphor, because recovery often feels far more like surrendering
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But love, I had so painfully discovered, did not last the way self-hate did [...] I resolved to remember that it was not safe to trust in love. But I would always find solace in my own self-hate
sarahp85's review against another edition
5.0
Pfff... this was a tough one to read yet so beautifully written.
I've loved Evy since I first saw her on the big screen. She was the perfect Luna to me. And then I loved her even more when I started following her podcast and all she does to fight for animal rights. I've been lucky enough to meet her briefly and my heart, she's just so sweet ❤
A friend from my old dramaschool passed away last year, lost her fight with anorexia. So in a way this hit home hard and I recognised some things Evy spoke about.
I wish for everyone who reads this, to treat each other but above all as well: treat yourself with kindness.
Thank you Evy for all you do ❤
I've loved Evy since I first saw her on the big screen. She was the perfect Luna to me. And then I loved her even more when I started following her podcast and all she does to fight for animal rights. I've been lucky enough to meet her briefly and my heart, she's just so sweet ❤
A friend from my old dramaschool passed away last year, lost her fight with anorexia. So in a way this hit home hard and I recognised some things Evy spoke about.
I wish for everyone who reads this, to treat each other but above all as well: treat yourself with kindness.
Thank you Evy for all you do ❤
archaena's review against another edition
5.0
I'm so glad I read this vibrant, heartfelt, and funny (much funnier than you'd expect given the subject matter, so long as you enjoy wry and ironic humor) memoir about living through an eating disorder, debuting in the arts as a beloved Harry Potter character, and learning to care for one's mind and body by pursuing one's dreams. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by the author.
Her discussion of anorexia is likely to be triggering to those newly recovering from an eating disorder, not because she dwells on the mechanics of avoiding eating (she conspicuously omits calorie counts and the like) but because she pulls you into the obsessive and hypercritical thought patterns that continue long after the harmful behaviors have been brought to heal. For this reason, I would highly recommend it for loved ones and clinicians hoping to better understand what an eating disorder is like and to help nourish dreams and self-expression rather than bodies alone. I would more tentatively recommend it to people in the later stages of recovery, once non-restrictive coping strategies are firmly in place, to see a realistic and affirming picture of what life looks like on the other side.
What I was most struck by was that eating disorders act as a form of anxiety disorder with the obsessiveness of OCD and the sense of inadequacy of my own social anxiety and above all the desire to control one's own life in the face of an unpredictable world and society, at the cost of any detriment to one's health and relationships. And that it is those very relationships that provide the means of recovery, from the desperate love of parents searching for treatment (shoutout to Evanna's mum), to the acceptance of a therapist and a correspondence with a favorite author, to the guidance of mentors and the commiseration and comeraderie of friends. And finally and most importantly - finding love, or at least friendship, with oneself.
I hope for her own sake that Evanna doesn't read the comments anymore, but if you do, all my love to you, your mother and your therapist for bringing you to the point where you could write this book. I look forward to listening to your podcast!
PS. Surely the opposite of butterfly hunting is raising caterpillars - caring for squishy ungainly little bodies until they are able to assume their beautiful adult form and take flight!
Her discussion of anorexia is likely to be triggering to those newly recovering from an eating disorder, not because she dwells on the mechanics of avoiding eating (she conspicuously omits calorie counts and the like) but because she pulls you into the obsessive and hypercritical thought patterns that continue long after the harmful behaviors have been brought to heal. For this reason, I would highly recommend it for loved ones and clinicians hoping to better understand what an eating disorder is like and to help nourish dreams and self-expression rather than bodies alone. I would more tentatively recommend it to people in the later stages of recovery, once non-restrictive coping strategies are firmly in place, to see a realistic and affirming picture of what life looks like on the other side.
What I was most struck by was that eating disorders act as a form of anxiety disorder with the obsessiveness of OCD and the sense of inadequacy of my own social anxiety and above all the desire to control one's own life in the face of an unpredictable world and society, at the cost of any detriment to one's health and relationships. And that it is those very relationships that provide the means of recovery, from the desperate love of parents searching for treatment (shoutout to Evanna's mum), to the acceptance of a therapist and a correspondence with a favorite author, to the guidance of mentors and the commiseration and comeraderie of friends. And finally and most importantly - finding love, or at least friendship, with oneself.
I hope for her own sake that Evanna doesn't read the comments anymore, but if you do, all my love to you, your mother and your therapist for bringing you to the point where you could write this book. I look forward to listening to your podcast!
PS. Surely the opposite of butterfly hunting is raising caterpillars - caring for squishy ungainly little bodies until they are able to assume their beautiful adult form and take flight!
angel__emma__'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
heyabbiej's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
jo_the_bookworm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
lizziculby's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
panohchoc's review against another edition
5.0
Gosh, this was absorbing, painful, heartbreaking, beautiful, inspiring. Not the type of book I was expecting to be a page turner, but I could not put it down, and basically spent all of my free time reading it over the past couple of days.
A big chunk of the book is a really intense recounting of having anorexia. I don't know what the reading experience would be like for someone who is dealing or has dealt with an eating disorder, and those who have may want to tread carefully. But I would recommend this book to anyone for whom it wouldn't be harmfully triggering. There's much to connect to, and admire, in her story.
Luna Lovegood is a truly wonderful character and I loved Evanna as Luna. I knew the bare bones of her story (eating disorder, letters with J.K. Rowling, getting cast as Luna from an open audition), but it was fascinating to hear the whole story. There are so many passages or moments from the book I'd love to gush about, but I suppose I'll stop here and just say: it's fantastic.
A big chunk of the book is a really intense recounting of having anorexia. I don't know what the reading experience would be like for someone who is dealing or has dealt with an eating disorder, and those who have may want to tread carefully. But I would recommend this book to anyone for whom it wouldn't be harmfully triggering. There's much to connect to, and admire, in her story.
Luna Lovegood is a truly wonderful character and I loved Evanna as Luna. I knew the bare bones of her story (eating disorder, letters with J.K. Rowling, getting cast as Luna from an open audition), but it was fascinating to hear the whole story. There are so many passages or moments from the book I'd love to gush about, but I suppose I'll stop here and just say: it's fantastic.