I want to send a special thank you to the Managing Editor of Trigger Publishing, Soraya Nair for sending Me, Myself and Ana by Abi Appleby to review. This is a story that will pull at your heart and will help people see there is light at the end of the tunnel for those who need help.
Blurb
Who’s your best friend? What happens when they’re not a real person, but a voice in your head?
Abi Appleby’s eating disorder manifested as Ana, a voice that told her to eat less and exercise more until she disappeared. Abi trusted and listened to her for long enough that her loved ones noticed her changing body and behaviours. They helped her into treatment, but even there, she could still hear Ana’s voice.
Me, Myself & Ana tells the story of Abi’s descent into anorexia nervosa, but it also shows how she finally quieted Ana – and realized that she wasn’t her best friend, but an enemy that she could defeat.
My Thoughts
Eating Disorders are complex to treat, and require a very specialized treatment plan and oversight. “Statistically anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders (Arcelus, 2011). Help from professionals reduces the likelihood of dying from anorexia significantly.” (Except from book)
Abi’s eating disorder is so severe it manifested into a voice/friend in her head named Ana who doesn’t want Abi to get better. Ana was taking over her life by giving her restrictions on what to eat, and how much, and forcing her to exercise way beyond her capability. She is starving and praising Abi for how good she looks.
Abi is doing her part by going into treatment after she reached a dangerous state of health and her family noticed how sick she was. She works very hard in treatment but she is still controlled by Ana and getting ridiculed daily for seeking treatment.
Now her struggle is shutting out these voices during treatment that are sabotaging her and learning how to live without an eating disorder. At one point Abi was skin and bones and her goal was to disappear. As you can imagine, Ana spoke even louder and more destructively and Abi follow her right into the middle of the eye of the storm.
“Ana” wasn’t so much a friend as a deadly mental illness disguised as a friendly voice inside my head: anorexia nervosa.” Several of her journal entries are quite scary. I am so proud of her for getting help and now she helps others.
Excerpt From
Me, Myself and Ana
We all have an inner voice but it’s very different for people with a mental illness who are very sick to see clearly.
This would also be great to have around the house for tweens/teens, boys, and girls, so they can get exposure to eating disorders, you have to start young with what is normal and what is not. There is so much peer pressure on teens these days with Social Media showing so many images that are photoshopped or they hear about a starving model hear makes over a million a year.
This is a big thumbs up in my book!
Trigger Publishing
TriggerHub.org is the first mental health organization of its kind. We are bringing mental health recovery and balance to millions of people worldwide through the power of our books.
We have built a first-class resource of curated books produced and published in-house to create a unique collection of mental health recovery titles unrivaled in quality and selection. We work with experts, psychologists, doctors, and coaches to produce our books, but we also work with real people looking to share their stories to reach out to others and provide hope, understanding, and compassion. These brave authors also aim to raise awareness of mental health’s “human” face and its impact on everyday lives.
Melinda
lookingforthelight.blog 
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