The book breaks down the stereotype of what an eating disorder really is. In today's society, having an eating disorder means having a sort of "psychological fragility or illness" (1). When you think of those who suffer from eating disorders, “young, upper-middle-class, heterosexual white women” typically come to mind (1). Their motivation is to take on the unrealistic appearance of models and reach the “standards created by advertisers and clothing designers” (1). The author is in no way trying to belittle women who suffer from eating disorders due to media pressure, but is showing that there are other people and reasons for having eating disorders. This image we currently have leaves out “women of color, working class women, and lesbians” (1). Most of these women develop eating disorders as a result of “racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, acculturation stress, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse” (2). Many of the women in this book were raped, discriminated against, and lived in abusive families where they saw their father beat their mother. On average "one woman in a thousand dies every year from anorexia" (3). The main reason for this is “heart and multiple organ failure” (3). The author uses the lives of eighteen women from different backgrounds to explain how they started having eating disorders. The book is divided into six sections. It starts with stereotypes about eating illnesses, how these eating disorders started, then develops into how these women are dealing with this problem now. The first three sections go straight to the topic, but the last sections go deeper. I am sure that the author's purpose, in organizing the book, is to show... in the middle of the page... their last years. Although this book is interesting it fails to give hope of a better future to other women. Women who go to meetings for their eating disorders are also often discriminated against. Some even find the programs too cutthroat and judgmental, leading to decreased meeting attendance and sometimes relapses. I would recommend this book if anyone wants to know the personal stories of minority women with eating disorders. It would not be a good source of information if someone wanted to know the signals, statistical information, or wanted to ask for help. However, Ms. Thompson made the point well when she stated that there is some form of “change in the social conditions that support violence and injustice” (127). Personally, I enjoyed reading about these women's lives, but I feel like the book doesn't do them justice.