Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-281) and index.

Connecting the dots: a genetic link -- Portrait of a hunger artist: the face of fear -- The laws of perfection: obsession and compulsion -- Wanting for nothing: avoidance -- Good bad girls: shame -- A certain self: identity and independence -- Terms of endearment: family dynamics -- Growing children: parenthood -- Love and other terrors: honor and intimacy -- Consuming passions: competing for health -- The wisdom of age: maturity in a youth culture -- Gaining power: becoming agents for change.

Nearly three decades after she detailed her first battle with anorexia in Solitaire, Aimee Liu presents a sequel. Liu believed she had conquered anorexia in her twenties. Then, in her forties, when her life once again began spiraling out of control, she stopped eating--the same forces that had caused her original eating disorder were still in play. Other women she knew with histories of anorexia and bulimia seemed to share many of her personality traits and habits under stress--even decades after "recovery." Liu set out to learn who is susceptible and why, and what it takes to overcome them once and for all. Through cutting-edge research and the stories of more than forty interview subjects, readers will discover that the tendency has little to do with culture, class, gender--or weight. Genetics, however, play a key role. So do temperament, anxiety, depression, and shame. Liu explores promising and innovative new treatments, offers vital insights to anyone who has ever had an eating disorder, and shows parents how to help protect their children from developing one.--From publisher description.