Thin
Thin by Lauren Greenfield was the first book about eating disorders that I picked up in a long time. Truth be told, after my last commitment to “get better,” I left thirty-odd books at my father’s house, away from my prying hands and roving eyes. I was at Chapters when I saw the cover (marked with a 30% off sticker), buying things that struck my fancy in a manic hardcover jaunt. I realized that it was majorly a photographic book and the side of me that denies sought to buy it in the hopes of having something “taboo and artistic” in my house. I suppose I might have put it next to Generation S.L.U.T.
Honestly, I flipped through it’s pages, trying to be nonchalant. My boyfriend glanced at a few pages with me and gasped at the awkwardly thin senior, he piqued my competitive side when noticing one girl who was much thinner than he’d ever known me to be, and he made me proud when he asked why one girl was even in the book - I had been much thinner than her.
My friend saw it on my coffee table and mentioned seeing the documentary on Showcase. How intense and at some points disgusting and others scintillating it was. She said that from what she had seen, the patient on the cover had been very thin and unhealthy and nowhere near my size (then 5′6″ and about 105lbs.) - she was that thin. Now, this is one of my best friends, so I know that she did not intentionally mean to send me a message like that - but our continuing debate about it, where I may have even lied about the girl’s stats in order to deflate my own, lead me to a discovery.
It was beginning again and the book was a trigger for me. I returned it within the week.
There is an intro to the documentary, that I found on YouTube. You’re not me, so if you’re interested in picking it up, it’s available on many bookseller’s sites, such as Amazon.
youtube, thin, hbo, showcase, lauren greenfield, Renfrew Center, eating disorders, trigger, Generation S.L.U.T., relapse
June 28th, 2007 at 7:56 am
I remember seeing this clip, but I’ve never seen the whole documentary… want to, though…