Good Girls

A Study and Story of Anorexia

By: Hadley Freeman

Narrated by: Hadley Freeman

From Hadley Freeman, bestselling author of House of Glass, comes a “riveting” (The New York Times) memoir about her experience as an anorexic and her journey to recovery.

In 1995, Hadley Freeman wrote in her diary: “I just spent three years of my life in mental hospitals. So why am I crazier than I was before????”

From the ages of fourteen to seventeen, Freeman lived in psychiatric wards after developing anorexia nervosa. Her doctors informed her that her body was cannibalizing her muscles and heart for nutrition, but they could tell her little else: why she had it, what it felt like, what recovery looked like. For the next twenty years, Freeman lived as a “functioning anorexic,” grappling with new forms of self-destructive behavior as the anorexia mutated and persisted. Anorexia is one of the most widely discussed but least understood mental illnesses. Through “sharp storytelling, solid research and gentle humor” (The Wall Street Journal), Freeman delivers an incisive and bracing work that details her experiences with anorexia—the shame, fear, loneliness, and rage—and how she overcame it. She interviews doctors to learn how treatment for the illness has changed since she was hospitalized and what new discoveries have been made about the illness, including its connection to autism, OCD, and metabolic rate. She learns why the illness always begins during adolescence and how this reveals the difficulties for girls to come of age. Freeman tracks down the women with whom she was hospitalized and reports on how their recovery has progressed over decades.

Good Girls is an honest and hopeful story of resilience that offers a message to the nearly 30 million Americans who suffer from eating disorders: Life can be enjoyed, rather than merely endured.

Critic reviews

"Hadley Freeman’s British accent and strong sense of pacing make for easy listening on the difficult subject of anorexia. Her transitions, both in writing and in narrating, are flawless as she merges 30 years of personal experiences, interviews with professionals and patients, research about treatment and causes, humor, horror, and heart. The views she presents are thoughtful, stereotype-busting, surprising pictures of what anorexia is and is not. She dispels the typical explanation — “it’s the mother’s fault” — instead focusing on quiet trigger moments when girls fear womanhood and the sexuality and performance issues that it portends. Descriptions of her experiences are studded with poignant imagery, and her meaning is often expressed with humorous disgust — for example, when she recounts the many reasons given by professionals for her anorexia."

Best ED book I’ve read

This is one of the best books about ED. It’s Raw, truthful and I truly felt validated. Author mentioned studies, both old and recent and the performance was great. I truly felt like I was sitting with someone as they shared their story.

Everyone who has a girl should read this!

I never thought our family would ever deal with an eating disorder but here we are!
Hadley gives such insight , truth and hope by explaining her life.
During our darkest moments, this book allowed me to process the fears and struggles of our daughter.
There is HOPE and one always needs hope on a hellish path.
LISTEN TO IT!

Great informative book!

A very honest and informative book. All girls should read it! Especially those who have eating disorders and families of those girls. We’ll done!

Excellent book about the personal experience of anorexia

A detailed look at the personal experience of the author when she had anorexia with information about the disease from current studies and research. Beautifully written. Well read by the author. Hadley Freeman is a well known newspaper columnist in the UK and her previous book, The House of Glass about her family history, is also excellent. I’ve had no personal experience with anorexia (thank God!) but I saw the behaviour in other young women when I was young.

Loved the idea of a modern take on Eating Disorders.

I loved the book at first until about chapter 7 when the blatant Transphobia started and continued throughout the rest of the book. The only reason I finished it was because I thought it would get better but when it didn't I just wanted to finish it and never think about this book again.