A New Name

At school I studied Home Economics to A-Level. I loved finding out about food. The chemical reactions thatoccured in your body from eating. The effects foods had on your body. I began to lose weight. I went to University in Edinburgh to study Human Nutrition. I was surrounded by weight obsessed individuals. As part of a project we had to carry around scales and weigh what we ate. I became concerned my results were going to show that I ate more than everyone else. So I cut back. After the project was over I continued to cut back and back. I had cards written out with what I could eat each day. I used to walk for miles. I lost so much weight. Thankfully my story ends there. Through God's grace, friends, family, the fact that I am not determined and dropping out of that University and returning home I started eating properly again and never descended into anorexia. However the experience made me realise how easy it could be to descend down this path.

A New Name outlines the story of Emma Scrivener and her struggle with Anorexia. This isn't a  story wrapped up in pretty ribbons. This is a story which outlines the truth of this terrible condition, a Emma comments "The face of anorexia is not a glossy model in a perfume ad.". We see Emma descending from a happy child in Belfast into a deeply troubled teenager who is imprisoned by the desire to control what she eats. We see her seemingly recover only to descend again into the condition in her twenties.We see her recover from anorexia but still suffer from the consequences of the condition.

I really benefited from this book. It is beautifully written and shows how ultimately it was God who could pull her from the trap of anorexia. It seeks to raise the profile of this condition which is so damaging but so often ignored. It is a brutally honest book. Some of the language and expressions used take me back to being at school and this may offend some; but the use of such expressions reflect reality and highlight the issue of bullying. Also I was a little confused as to when her actual conversion happened. However all in all I felt that this was an excellent read and would do everyone good to read especially mothers of teenage daughters, those with an interest in anorexia and youth leaders.

Published by IVP