Tina McGuff

In the interest of full disclosure, I should relate that I am an internet acquaintance of the author, having met her through a travel website. She is a resident of Dundee and I have traveled to nearby St. Andrews. Since taking a golf trip a few years ago, I have maintained contact and conversed from time to time, well before publication of the subject book.

It is absolutely stunning to me that the “squared away” person I know is the same person whose struggles are detailed in this first horrifying and then uplifting and inspirational account of her descent into anorexia. Depression and eating disorders are so far outside my frame of reference that it is difficult to speak on the subject. For me, Tina’s book puts a human face on this far too common debilitating disease. It highlights the effect of the disease on the loved ones of the sufferer. Unfortunately, anorexia is only a part of the struggles faced by Tina, first as a teenager and then a young adult. The events that triggered her eating disorder, the breakup of her family and descent into poverty, a nervous breakdown and the death of her beloved father only add to the list of obstacles she has faced to date. It is heartbreaking.

Luckily, Tina was able to overcome these obstacles and lead not just a normal life, but a very successful one as a wife and mother. Her story should be an inspiration not only to those suffering from similar illnesses, but to their families, many of whom have likely lost hope that recovery is a possibility. In my case, it has brought to light how fortunate I have been not having faced even a tiny fraction of the adversity overcome by Tina.

Tina is Scottish and she speaks with the colloquial terms of her native land. She also speaks of weight using stones (one stone=14 pounds), so some of the writing might not be familiar to an American audience, though if anything, it adds charm. The feelings expressed and the pain suffered, however, is universal.… (meer)