No Right Answer

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     Wintergirls was a hard one, and I mean a really hard one, for me to read. I have seen people that I love and deeply care about struggle with eating disorders and it is one of the most heartbreaking things to witness. Something that stood out to me a lot in the novel was Lia's mom trying to help her. Lia saw her as an enemy because she was trying to get her to eat and I know exactly how that feels. I noticed that in our class discussions people were saying that Lia's mom was approaching some things wrong, and while I do agree with that, I will say that trying to help someone overcome an eating disorder is extremely challenging. It feels as if no matter what methods are used, nothing will work. Trying to get into the head of a person struggling like that is so hard and I feel like Wintergirls allowed me to get a glimpse of that.

      It was so sad seeing the way that Lia counted all her calories and talked about just wanting to lose more and more weight until she was nothing. I think that one of the main roots of Lia's eating disorder was seeking control. She had so much happen around her that she had no control over (parents divorce, Cassie's death, etc.) and I think that aside from the desire to lose weight, her ED was something that she could take charge of and have a say in. It could have even been a cry for help that no one understood. This novel really hit me, since I will be teaching middle school I don't see myself using it in my classroom, but it will stick with me and always be a reminder of what girls with eating disorders go through.

      

Comments

  1. Bekah LongNovember 10, 2021 at 8:15 PM

    Thank you for sharing your experience with our approach to Lia's mom. Your experience reminded me of what my sister would hear all the time growing up and sometimes now. She was always told she was too skinny and we could see her bones. This made her feel like she wasn't good enough. It is so easy for us to just "fix" the situation instead of help heal the intrusive thoughts. I think that Wintergirls is a good jumping off point for educators and people that care can use to help their adolescent in need before they even realize that they are in a bad place.

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  2. Bailey DuncanNovember 10, 2021 at 8:17 PM

    Hey Abby! I hate that anyone that you have had people close to you suffer from eating disorders, and that you had to experiencing seeing it happen. You are so right that it is hard to help those in that situation because they may not want the help, and, as Lia did, see them as an enemy when they are only trying to help. I agree that Lia's eating disorder may have been a way for her to have control of something in her life when everything else may not be going her way or is out of her hands. I think that this would be a hard concept for middle school students to grasp and understand, but I am hopeful to be able to use this book in my high school class one day.

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  3. Olivia TNovember 12, 2021 at 8:38 PM

    Hey! I agree with you when you said there’s no way we should sit and critique Lia’s mom about how she went about helping Lia- after, all she is helpless like Lia in terms of this disorder. I really appreciate your perspective on the matter! Great response

    Olivia T

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  4. Erin RutherfordNovember 14, 2021 at 4:45 PM

    I agree with your insights on Lia's mother. I also think Lia did not like her mother because her mother was much more involved in her getting better than her dad and stepmom. Lia knew she could easily manipulate her dad and stepmom, but she knew she could not do that with her mother.

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