Elena Vanishing

I read Elena Dunkle's memoir, Elena Vanishing, which was co-written with her mother Clare B. Dunkle. The book starts when Elena is 17. She is living in Germany with her parents. Her older sister is having mental health problems like drinking, cutting, and running away. Elena strives to be very good getting top marks in her school, volunteering at the hospital and completing extra curricular activities. She is somewhat of a perfectionist plus she has anxiety. She handles her anxiety by reducing her food intake. She begins to loose weight. Elena's inner voice tells her she is a fat slob, that those french fries have too many calories, that she must do better. Eventually she is hospitalized but the treatment doesn't help. Her mother takes her to a hospital in Texas where they used to live and he isn't much help either. She spends the next 5 years in and out of treatment. Only when some her her close friends in treatment loose their lives does Elena realize she doesn't want to die. She wants to get better. This was a heart wrenching tale. It's hard to believe that any person would have such hateful thoughts in their head about themselves.