Category: Books

Curating almost 900 posts into themed e-books you can keep close If you’ve been with me a while—some of you since 2008—you know Life Stories Diary has grown into a gathering place: for people living with eating disorders, for families and health professionals, for life story writing, and for anyone...

Why this relationship matters There are many kinds of relationships that steady a life: family, friends, cherished companions (including the furry ones). Then there are the few who become anchors for the work we feel called to do. For almost two decades, Professor Daniel Le Grange has been one of...

I am often asked if I plan to write another book.  My answer is, “No, I’m living my next chapter.”  Four years have passed since the publication of my memoir, The Longest Match: Rallying to Defeat an Eating Disorder in Midlife.  Now is a good time to write about that...

When anorexia nervosa (AN) develops in a child, it impacts the entire family. However, family-based treatment (FBT) offers hope by reinstating fundamental family coping principles—empowering parents and supporting them and their children in overcoming this serious psychiatric illness. My Kid is Back Second Edition serves as an accessible guide to understanding...

There was a time when I didn’t know who I was. Not really. Not in the way that lets you walk into a room, make a choice, or even sit with your own thoughts and trust that they’re truly yours. Anorexia nervosa took hold of me when I was 11...

The most joyful words a parent can say are, “I’ve got my kid back.” With co-author, Professor Daniel Le Grange, I welcome the release of My Kid is Back, Second Edition. This updated and expanded book offers renewed hope, essential knowledge, and practical guidance for families supporting a young person...

I was born on January 1, 1968, with my feet turned backwards—a physical reminder of a drug that changed the course of thousands of lives. That drug was thalidomide. Thalidomide was introduced in the 1950s and early 1960s to help pregnant women with morning sickness. It was affordable, available without...

With my co-author, Professor Daniel Le Grange, I’m delighted to announce the worldwide release of My Kid is Back, Second Edition. We thank families from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand for contributing to this new book’s powerful message about Family-Based Treatment (FBT), the most effective...

I am surrounded by 10 family members inside the National Library of Australia, Canberra. We are in a private reading room to visit my diary ‘family’, the early years of which are spread before us on a long table. Emotions bubble within—I feel exposed, unclothed, with my mind, heart, and...

It’s funny when we realise that we have feet in two worlds that barely speak to each other. I have one foot in the world of eating disorder (ED) research and treatment and the other in the world of literary studies. The literary people tend to assume that books must...