This Mean Disease: Growing Up in the Shadow of My Mother's Anorexia Nervosa

by Daniel Becker, Joel Yager (Foreword by)

Overview

The impact of anorexia nervosa on families can be devastating. Daniel Becker combines the innocent recollections of his childhood with the insightful observations of a mature adult in this story of his mother's 30-year obsession with food and her eventual death from anorexia nervosa. He provides an intimate portrayal of how he, his father, and his two brothers each struggled to balance their loyalty to Mom against the increasing awareness that only by separating from her could they ensure their own survival.

Beginning with his earliest memory of her packing a suitcase to leave for the first of many hospitalizations, Daniel must reconcile his love for her with her repeated absences and bizarre behaviors. Part cautionary tale and part exploration of how a person with an eating disorder affects their family members, this biography is valuable reading for individual sufferers, their families, and those who treat them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780936077758
Publisher:	Gürze Books
Publication date:	08/25/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	411 KB

About the Author

Daniel Becker was born in San Francisco. He attended Dartmouth College and received a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University. Career highlights include working as a Legislative Assistant to Representative Barbara Boxer in Washington D.C., working with the California Legislative Analyst’s Office in Sacramento and working in several different policy positions with the City of Seattle. In 1998, Daniel spent four months living and working in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Daniel’s writing experience includes earning two certificates in non-fiction writing from the University of Washington. He has also taught writing courses for the University of Phoenix. His work has been published in Salon.com and Backpacker Magazine. The first two chapters of This Mean Disease earned a finalist spot in the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association’s annual literary contest.

Recently married to Annette Elinger, Daniel is currently a Master’s Candidate in Stanford University’s Teacher’s Education Program. His father, stepmother and two brothers continue to live in the San Francisco Bay Area.