A heart-wrenching journey of a broken young woman, searching for something bigger than herself.

Told in the first person, this story does a good job of showing the ways that the disease affected Mel, in her thinking, how she viewed others and herself through its lens. Most of the book is her walking on her journey to Mt Rainer, passing the times with her thoughts and her memories. She meets a full cast of colorful characters, trail angels, who tend to her physical and mental needs. I loved each of their unique and compassionate hearts.

Mel has a complicated relationship with her faith, and her parents were portrayed as unlikable do-gooders with big visions that didn't include the family in front of them. Mel is drawn to Catholicism and she encourages herself with stories of the saints and their righteous pilgrimages, but she also seems open to other more new age things and self-help, self-love mantras. Theologically it is safe to say that I did not agree with the book.

Overall, this was a difficult book for many reasons. Her journey was long and it was hard to read her story painted through such a lens of cynicism and disease, but at the same time that is what was well done as it showed how the disease was harming her. At times the book was whimsical, with the many friends she made along the way that brought hope and color to her world. The end felt a little anti-climatic to me personally, neat and folded up like that, so there was that too. In the end this just wasn't a book for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ( )

Moving and transformative, this novel take the reader on a journey as Mel faces real demons and struggles in a fictional narrative. I like that the author does not shy away from tough subjects and I really liked that she wrote from her own experience of an eating disorder. I really appreciated the growth that Mel experiences in this novel and I appreciated that faith played a role in Mel’s evolution. This story is eye opening and instills a message of hope. Even if you do not personally struggle with an eating disorder, I think the mental anguish that Mel faces is something that can be extrapolated to other circumstances. This book is heavier than other fiction I’ve enjoyed, but I think the message is worth the read. Recommended!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishing. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. ( )

I love/loved this book. The Character of Mel is so riveting, so engaging, so addictive as she travels from Grand Rapids, MI to Mount Rainier. Her thoughts and the people she encounters are all full realised. ( )

I really did not know much about eating disorders until reading this beautiful book. Mel, our anorexic heroine is at the lowest point in her life she's ever been. She works at a fast food chain being unable to find a decent job despite her college degree, her boyfriend has left her, and her anorexia has led to hospitalizations and worse. She knows she must act to save herself. So she decides to make a pilgrimage to Mt. Rainer in Washington state alone on foot. Her inner demons are strong. Along the way she faces many obstacles and hardships but also meets many generous and loving people who help her and sometimes even feed her, something Mel has to learn to accept. It is a beautiful story of forgiving ones self and finding a spirituality that can sustain one in life. Highly recommended. ( )

This is a wonderful story full of hope. It also is a story that shows you need to find your own way to healing. Mel is an interesting character. She has a lot of ups and downs. At times I do not like her but I think that is because I do not understand someone who has an eating disorder. I really enjoyed the descriptions that Mel gives of the areas that she walks through. I love the people that stop and help Mel. I think this would be a great book for someone who does not understand what some people with addictions are going through. This helped me to understand some of what she was going through. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )