Insatiable: A Young Mother's Struggle with Anorexia

by Erica Rivera

Book Overview

A raw and engrossing memoir of a young mother's addiction to eating disorders and her struggle toward health-now in paperback. At twenty-four, Erica Rivera appeared to have it all: a B.A., two daughters, a successful husband, a house in the suburbs-and a great body. But under the surface, Erica was struggling with an addiction. She developed a self-destructive obsession with dieting, bingeing, purging, exercising, and, ultimately, anorexia. It wasn't...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425236633
• ISBN13: 9780425236635
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Young Mother Forsakes Her Children for Food, and Thinness

Insatiable is not, like any memoir about an eating disorder, an easy read. There are binges and paeans to suicide and disturbing moments when Rivera leaves her two sleeping toddlers to go for a run. I found the chapters in which Rivera plans to commit suicide the most compelling, and they most starkly show the depths to which Rivera sank over the course of her eating disorder. Yes, there are dramatic, detailed descriptions of food here and what Rivera did with it, everything from amassing it to hiding it to chewing and spitting it. In one scene, her daughter's keen sense of smell sniffs out the binge Rivera is sneaking. In many ways, this is telling, in that Rivera is able to hide her affliction from many around her, including her parents (despite a teenage eating disorder episode), but her daughters bluntly call her on her issues. Rivera, to her credit, does not gloss over these moments, or the ones where she ignores her daughters to focus on Ana and BB (anorexia and Binge B---h, as she calls them). By personifying her eating disorder, she helps make it relatable. Rivera doesn't necessarily get into where her eating disorder came from, though she touches on the instability of her childhood; instead she focuses on the damage her eating disorder did to her thinking, her body and those around her, including men she dates after her divorce. It's to her credit as a writer that some of the most beautifully written scenes are the most unnerving. Other reviewers have pointed out that Rivera was self-involved; indeed, that seems to me the very point of this memoir, that food, above all else, was what ruled her (well, food combined with body image). Even when doctors questioned her motives, she resisted, enthralled by her affair with Ana. I've read many eating disorder memoirs and while, to a degree, they all echo each other, due to the nature of the subject matter, Rivera's stands out both in covering the children and family life, and the nuance of the writing. While extreme, Rivera's body dysmorphia will also, sadly, be familiar to many women.

A Must-Read!

Several years ago, I would not have been interested in this book. I would have picked it up in a used bookstore, read the cover, and put it back in the pile. Another confessional memoir by someone with a problem. I had my own problems, but was coping just fine, thank you. Other than the gratuitous glimpse into the dark side, a book like this had nothing to offer me. Like the "chick flicks" I sometimes rented to watch with my wife, when there was absolutely nothing else to do, it would have been an anomaly in my literary time-space continuum. Of course, it would have crossed my mind that I had a sister who has been diagnosed with bulimia. And my own sleeplessness and nausea due to work stress were sometimes causes for concern. But I would continue to look forward, remaining optimistic and focus on the good things in life. I would also have missed out on a superb reading experience. Erica Rivera writes in an engaging conversational style, as if you were meeting her over coffee and scones in a St. Paul coffee shop. She befriends the reader and entrusts her closest secrets to her guests. Her tone is consistently upbeat and positive, as it often is for the majority of people in her native state of Minnesota. It's against this pristine backdrop of the Twin Cities that the horror of anorexia raises its hideous head. If you or anyone close to you has experience with eating disorders, you'll find a very straightforward, sincere account of what is, in essence, a struggle for survival. If you know nothing at all about anorexia, this book will open your eyes to a very frightening world. And refreshingly, you will do so under the guidance of a clear mind, one possessing great courage and a sparkling sense of humor. It's a story that is disturbing and enlightening, depressing and uplifting, horrifying and funny. In a way, it reminds me of "Fargo," in the way it maintains a foothold in peppy Nordic banter, while confronting a slow, agonizing death point-blank in the face. It is terrifying, entertaining, and quite real. The most important thing to be gained from reading the book, however, is the understanding of how love can keep us alive. This is what drew me to it. I recently experienced a bout with depression, in which the love I have for my children, wife and other family members was the sole reason that I sought the help I needed. The author fortunately came to the same conclusion, gathering the strength she required to break though the barriers of pain, self-doubt, and obsession. For in the end, if we are to be entirely alone, then what are we? Organic robots that eat, poop, and die. "Insatiable" proves that we are so much more, despite what we and others may inflict on ourselves.

Brilliant!

This is a brilliant book. Having suffered from anorexia in my teens, I know all too well the pain and trauma associated with eating disorders. The author perfectly depicts her struggle in a real and authentic way. She is honest and revealing. I have read many books on eating disorders and this is by far the best! No one else has come as close to the truth. The author's voice is courageous and witty. She leaves nothing out. I have recommended this book to several friends, all with rave reviews! Can't wait to see what this author churns out next!

Fantastic new Memoir!

I think it's important to support great writing when you read it and Erica Rivera's "Insatiable" is truly wonderful.. As a woman, a mother and an artist I related to this woman's story. Despite wether or not the reader struggles with anorexia there is a strong under current of honesty and humor that is universal.. I was inspired and amazed at the transformational power of speaking your truth.. how courageous and feeing this process can be. I commend Erica Rivera and was honored to read Insatiable.

Raw. Worth the read!

The book is enlightening. Very raw at times. The behaviors of the eating disorder were really interesting, but when she talks about the mental and emotional side of the anorexia & binging, that's when it got very powerful. Even people who don't have an eating disorder (or at least not anorexia or bulimia) can relate to the feelings she talks about. So in that way I think her writing can reach more than a niche of the population. While the book IS about an eating disorder, which is very very interesting in itself, it's also about how she FELT. There are many people who will be able to relate to what she was going through, as well as how she coped via the anorexia. Erica Rivera is a fantastic writer. When she talks about the eating disorder, her writing reminds me of Diablo Cody's Candy Girl. Both books are very well written, although the subject matter may not fit for everyone. The writing itself is reason enough to buy the book.