Famished

Rebecca Lester's Famished explores eating disorders through personal experience and professional insight, offering a critical examination of their treatment and societal perceptions.

At eleven and again at eighteen, Rebecca Lester faced life-threatening struggles with anorexia nervosa. Now, as a tenured anthropology professor and licensed social worker, she combines her ethnographic insights and clinical expertise to explore the complex world of eating disorders. In Famished, she delves into their history, diagnosis, personal experiences, treatment approaches, and their representation in American culture.

Famished represents the culmination of over twenty years of dedicated anthropological and clinical work, alongside Lester's own lived experiences. Through a blend of cultural analysis, therapeutic narratives, and candid autobiographical reflections, the book seeks to unravel the reasons behind the development of eating disorders, the challenges of recovery, and the frequent failures of treatment. It also critically examines the healthcare system, highlighting the troubling intersection of profit and patient care, and how this dynamic can inadvertently sustain the very issues it aims to solve.

With a tone that is both fierce and vulnerable, Famished offers a fresh perspective on eating disorders and those who endure them. It challenges readers to rethink their understanding of these conditions, fostering a deeper empathy for individuals struggling with them. By intertwining personal stories with broader cultural critiques, Lester aims to inspire change in how society perceives and addresses eating disorders.