Overview
Main description
A unique new approach to treating eating disorders
Eight million women in the United States suffer from anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia. For these women, the road to recovery is a rocky one. Many succumb to their eating disorders. Life Without Ed offers hope to all those who suffer from these often deadly disorders. For years, author Jennifer Schaefer lived with both anorexia and bulimia. She credits her successful recovery to the technique she learned from her psychologist, Thom Rutledge.
This groundbreaking book illustrates Rutledge's technique. As in the author's case, readers are encouraged to think of an eating disorder as if it were a distinct being with a personality of its own. Further, they are encouraged to treat the disorder as a relationship rather than as a condition. Schaefer named her eating disorder Ed; her recovery involved "breaking up" with Ed
- Shares the points of view of both patient and therapist in this approach to treatment
- Helps people see the disease as a relationship from which they can distance themselves
- Techniques to defeat negative thoughts that plague eating disorder patients
Prescriptive, supportive, and inspirational, Life Without Ed shows readers how they too can overcome their eating disorders.
Author comments
Jenni Schaefer appears regularly on television and national radio to raise awareness about eating disorders and recovery. She writes for self-help/recovery publications nationwide and has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Cosmogirl, Publishers Weekly, and Woman’s World. A talented singer and songwriter living in Nashville, Jenni devotes much of her time to speaking around the country about eating disorder awareness. For more information, visit jennischaefer.com.
Thom Rutledge is a psychotherapist and the author of Embracing Fear: How to Turn What Scares Us into Our Greatest Gift. For more information, visit thomrutledge.com.
Back cover copy
"Infused with humor, rich in vivid imagery, and deeply compassionate, this book brings hope to those who suffer from eating disorders, offering them creative tools.” -- David B. Herzog, M.D., professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"Jenni’s quick wit and brilliant honesty are an inspiration to anyone trying to divorce themselves from an eating disorder ... an accessible, helpful must-read!”
-- Lindsey Hall, author of Bulimia: A Guide to Recovery
Jenni had been in an abusive relationship with Ed for far too long. He controlled Jenni's life, distorted her self-image, and tried to physically harm her throughout their long affair. Then Jenni met psychotherapist and author Thom Rutledge. He taught her how to treat her eating disorder as a relationship, not a condition. By thinking of her eating disorder as a unique personality separate from her own, Jenni was able to break up with Ed once and for all.
Inspiring, compassionate, and filled with practical exercises to help you break up with your own personal E.D., Life Without Ed provides new hope for the disorders that plague millions of women and young girls. Beginning with Jenni's "divorce" from Ed, this supportive, lifesaving book combines a patient's insights and experiences with a therapist's prescriptions for success to help you live a healthier, happier life without Ed.
