Wintergirls

Two weeks ago in my publishing class we had a panel of solid midlist authors come: Mette Harrison, Allyson Condie, Carol Lynch Williams. I asked them how they wrote characters who had some kind of medical condition (like Alzheimers or an eating disorder) in a way that felt authentic. They offered me some suggestions of how to do research, and then Carol suggested that I read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson--which I just finished today.

Wintergirls is a narrative told in first-person by a girl who has anorexia. There are a lot of books out there about anorexic or bulimic girls, but rarely do you find a book that deals with them from the first-person point of view. From my position as a hoping-to-be-someday-in-the-future author, the idea of writing about such a disease from the first-person is intimidating. Like, super intimidating. And by nature, I think, the book is going to be intense. Wintergirls is very intense. I've never had an eating disorder. I've had/have a lot of friends who have. I know what it feels like to constantly worry about your body and always feel too fat--but I know that's not the same experience as actually starving yourself or binging and purging.

I think this book is brave. And I think it's really well done. It felt real to me. I felt like I was going a little crazy as a read it. It felt honest. It doesn't focus only on the main character's issue with eating, because I don't think eating disorders are ever just about eating. There's so much more connected. Like I said, it was intense, and even disturbing at times.

I don't want to put my foot in my mouth (I'm an expert at this. If you want to know how, just ask me sometime. I have an easy two-step method. You won't even have to think about it--I never do). But here's the deal: so many girls have eating disorders. And I think it's something that's hard to understand if you've never been there. Well, this book helped me understand a little bit. That's all.

Carol also said that we write what we know and we write what we're interested in. We learn and learn and learn and learn, and then we know.

I don't recommend this book if you're feeling depressed or emotionally/mentally unstable. That probably sounds way too strong. For a comparison: The Bell Jar made me feel like I was losing it a bit. That's just me.