Fragile Bodies; Strong Willpower

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Wintergirls was truly an eye-opening book.  When I think of eating disorders, it is not anywhere close to what Lia and Cassie did to themselves.  It was not only the eating disorders that were shocking though, it was also the other issues Lia had, like cutting herself.  It was really quite impressive the willpower Lia showed throughout the novel with her eating.  The meticulous counting of calories of everything she put in her mouth, the hours of time spent on the stair stepper to burn the small number of calories she consumed.  But I think the most interesting part of the novel for me is the question of what actually caused Lia to feel the need to have such excessive control over her food.  At the beginning of the novel, it seems that Cassie and Lia's parents place the blame for the eating disorders on one another.  I do think that the competition Cassie and Lia had with each other to be the skinniest made the disorders they both had worse, but I think most of Lia's issues stemmed from the situation with her parents.  Lia's parents divorced because her dad had an affair, and he quickly remarried.  When that took place is when Lia started cutting herself.  I think the cutting started because she felt so out of control with the situation with her parents, and the cutting made her feel like she was able to control something.  This eventually grew into the terrible eating disorder she fought the entire novel.  The control over the calories she consumed made her feel better about her parents divorcing and constantly fighting.  There are times in the novel that her parents try to talk, but they end up fighting and she clearly does not handle it well.  This novel is really eye-opening not only to how addictive and deadly eating disorders really are, but it also shows how parents' behaviors and lives can so negatively affect their children.   I think Lia may have not been so obsessed with her eating and that control if her life at home had been different.  When Lia finally realizes that she can have control over her life, not only in the aspect of food, is when she is finally able to begin to try to heal herself.

Comments

  1. Samantha DouglasNovember 10, 2021 at 7:57 PM

    It was also difficult for me to get through the chapters of her cutting herself, and also anything at the motel at all. I loved your explanation as to why her illness started in the first. It all starts with control because she couldn't control her circumstances around her, she could still control herself. The obsession Lia had with control ended up dictating her life, and her relationship with the world around her. Great job!

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