Body Image & Eating Disorders books & resources

The following is a list of recommended books and resources about body image and eating disorders. The Location(s) available column shows where these books are available, eg, from your local Christchurch City Library (CCL) and/or from the Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC).

Books can be reserved online and checked out by visiting CCL or MHERC. If a book is not available, a librarian may be able to suggest another book or place a hold on a book. To borrow or place a hold on a book, you must be a member of the library. MHERC can post books and other resources out to its users, including those living in rural areas, and will include a post-paid bag for returning books. Once read, books need to be returned to the library.

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Cover

Title & Author

Description

Year

Location(s) available

Loving Someone with an Eating Disorder: Understanding, Supporting & Connecting With your Partner

By Dana Harron

Year: 2019

If your loved one is one of millions of Americans who suffers from an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, you may feel alone, without guidance or understanding. As a romantic partner, you need to know how to navigate issues such as parenting, sex and intimacy, and running a household. This book provides that help by addressing your uniquely complex and difficult situation, and provides much-needed support for growth and healing. In Loving Someone With an Eating Disorder, you’ll find valuable information about eating disorders, diagnostic categories, and common misconceptions. You’ll also learn about the importance of self-care and boundaries for yourself, and find writing and perspective-taking exercises to help you gain a greater understanding of your partner’s struggle. You’ll also learn skills to help you address specific problems, such as managing groceries and meals together, sex and intimacy issues, and concerns about parenting. Finally, you’ll find a practical discussion about treatment and recovery from disordered eating–making it clear that both you and your partner need healing–as well as information about seeking further support.

2019

Location

CCL

8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder

By Carolyn Costin

Year: 2011

Subject: Personal Journey

This is no ordinary book on how to overcome an eating disorder. The authors bravely share their unique stories of suffering from and eventually overcoming their own severe eating disorders. Interweaving personal narrative with the perspective of their own therapist-client relationship, their insights bring an unparalleled depth of awareness into just what it takes to successfully beat this challenging and seemingly intractable clinical issue.

2011

Location

MHERC

Eating in the Light of the Moon

By Anita Johnston

Year: 2000

Subject: Insights and story telling

By weaving practical insights and exercises through a rich tapestry of multicultural myths, ancient legends, and folktales, Anita Johnston helps the millions of women preoccupied with their weight discover and address the issues behind their negative attitudes toward food.

2000

Location

MHERC

Apple a Day : A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia

By Emma Woolf

Year: 2013

Subject: Anorexia, Personal journey

At the age of 32, after ten years of hiding from the truth, Emma Woolf finally decided it was time to face the biggest challenge of her life. Addicted to hunger, exercise and control, she was juggling a full-blown eating disorder with a successful career, functioning on an apple a day. A manifesto for the modern generation to stop starving and start living.

2013

Location

MHERC

Overcoming Binge Eating

By Christopher Fairburn

Year: 2013

Subject: Binge Eating, CBT-based

Written by an International leading clinician Fairburn offers practical strategies on how to overcome the destructive cycle of bulimia and binge eating using Cognitive Behaviour Treatment (CBT) strategies. Also useful for families.

2013

Location

CCL

MHERC

Overcoming bulimia nervosa and binge-eating: a self-help guide using cognitive behavioral techniques

By Peter J Cooper

Year: 2009

Subject: Bulimia Nervosa and Binge eating, CBT-based

2009

Location

CCL

MHERC

Getting Better Bite by Bite: A survival kit for sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorders

By Ulrike Schmidt

Year: 2016

Subject: Bulimia, self-help

Getting Better Bite by Bite is an essential, authoritative and evidence-based self-help programme that has been used by bulimia sufferers for over 20 years. This new edition maintains the essence of the original book, while updating its content for today’s readers. The book provides step-by-step guidance for change based on solid research. The use of everyday language, stimulating contemporary case study story-telling and evocative illustrations in Bite by Bite provide encouragement, hope and new perspectives for all readers.

2016

Location

CCL

Keeping it Real: Love your body, love your life

By M Carr

(SL only)

Year: 2018

Subject: Loving Yourself

Inspirational blogger Makaia Carr left school at 16 and was pregnant with her first child a year later. In her own words, she was a ‘Maori teen mum from the ‘Naki’ who others expected to end up on the DPB. Instead she worked her way up through the fashion industry, launched her own online fitness community and clothing brand, and is now in demand as a motivational speaker and social media influencer. She has overcome depression and what she now recognises was an unhealthy relationship with her body, to promote a message of self-love and empowerment.In Keeping it Real, Makaia openly shares her struggles and the strategies that help her to maintain a positive body image and outlook. Her story is a reminder that physical and emotional well-being starts with self-acceptance. As she says, ‘self-loathing is imprisonment; self-love is liberation’.

2018

Location

CCL