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Most people's perceptions of anorexia are probably the same as mine were before I read Monkey Taming by Judith Fatallah. In my mind, before that point, anorexia wasn't an illness; it was a condition of vanity, to do with the media and the way that body image is shown to us all on a daily basis. But then one of my friends mentioned this book, and I asked to borrow it, as research for this campaign... and I'm honestly glad that I did.
Because, in Monkey Taming, the strange reality of anorexia is presented; the book tells the story of thirteen-year-old Jessica's battle with anorexia, a mental illness. It presents anorexia as a monkey in her mind; a monkey who is sometimes her friend, and sometimes her worst enemy - but who is the lone being that she can trust. The monkey tells her what she can eat, and counts her calories, and tells her that, basically, emaciated is a good look for her. He tells her she is beautiful when she is thin, and he tells her she is ugly when she eats.
The monkey is a disease; and that's what I think most people don't understand about anorexia. It's got nothing to do with the way the media portrays thin as beautiful, and it's got nothing to do with vanity, once it's set in. It can be caused by a hundred and one different things, and it develops into an obsession, and a compulsive disorder which takes far more than will power to break.
Why, though, should I accept this as the truth? Monkey Taming was written by a teenager, about her experiences - and, although it is a work of fiction, it is, on so many levels, the truth.
It may be a teenage novel, but it is compulsively readable: beautiful, horrifying, tragic, saddening, poetic, and, ultimately, uplifting.
And... I would have to say that, as it's only £4.79 on Amazon (UK), I would have to recommend that everyone reads it - especially if they want to finally understand what anorexia is truly about.
As one of Amazon's reviewers states;
"I know from experience that people often get frustrated with anorexics, because they don't understand what is happening to them. It's one of those things you can't really understand unless you've been there, and if you haven't, this is as close as you will come. A unique and revealing veiw into the inner half of a mental condition. Reccommended for anyone who has known someone with anorexia, and people who have never encountered it. An intense and wonderful read. "
