Starving In Search of Me: A Coming-of-Age Story of Overcoming An Eating Disorder and Finding Self-Acceptance

Starving In Search of Me: A Coming-of-Age Story of Overcoming An Eating Disorder and Finding Self-Acceptance

by Marissa LaRocca
Starving In Search of Me: A Coming-of-Age Story of Overcoming An Eating Disorder and Finding Self-Acceptance

Starving In Search of Me: A Coming-of-Age Story of Overcoming An Eating Disorder and Finding Self-Acceptance

by Marissa LaRocca

eBook

$13.49  $17.99 Save 25% Current price is $13.49, Original price is $17.99. You Save 25%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

“A heartrending memoir meets an empowering self-help guide” in this account of coming to terms with food, body image, and sexuality (Joshua Rosenthal, founder and director of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition).

In this riveting, intimate book, Marissa LaRocca relates her own struggle living, for a time, in two closets: one to hide her eating disorder and one to hide her sexuality and very identity. As she unravels the emotional layers of her battle, she reveals the skills she learned that led her to find herself—and to eventually emerge as an outspoken advocate for gay rights and women’s health issues. She shares the hard-won wisdom she gained during her journey, to help you:
  • Identify the root causes, symptoms, and triggers associated with an eating disorder
  • Acknowledge the “life issues” that are being masked by “food issues” or other addictions
  • Disempower compulsive behaviors like binging, purging, and obsessing about calories and exercise
  • Heal your relationship with food through healing your relationship with yourself
  • Escape the victim role, become empowered, and take responsibility for your own happiness
  • Connect with your life’s purpose and authentic self, transforming your weaknesses into strengths
  • Free your mind through tuning in to the body and witnessing emotions
  • Improve your body image and self-esteem by aligning your lifestyle with your true values and desires, and with what is realistic
  • Effectively communicate your needs with confidence
  • Establish guilt-free lifestyle boundaries to reduce anxiety and maximize vitality
  • Enhance peace of mind by developing a reliable support system
  • Eliminate the need to be perfect by practicing forgiveness and compassion toward yourself

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781633537132
Publisher: Mango Media
Publication date: 07/22/2022
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 147
File size: 2 MB
Age Range: 12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Marissa LaRocca is a New York-based, award-winning writer, speaker, and activist. She is passionate about helping adolescents and young women embrace their individuality and overcome challenges related to emotional eating, self-acceptance, identity, sexuality, body image, and depression. She is on a mission to help others with her activism.

Read an Excerpt

The way I see it, when you’re a child, the world is big and that’s okay because it’s far away. When you’re all grown up, the world is smaller and more manageable because you’ve carved your shape into it, so you need only to live in that shape. But when you’re stuck in that awkward space between childhood and adulthood, it’s like being a fly in a windstorm, trying to navigate a limitless sky while gusts of wind blow at you from every direction. I was still trying to get my shit together, far too curious to commit to anything, let alone an identity. I was simply hungry for so many things I could not yet define.

Table of Contents

Foreword 7

About Kate 12

Introduction 13

Part 1 What's Eating The Wallflower 19

Chapter 1 Why Are You So Quiet? 20

Early Struggles with Social Anxiety and Fitting In 20

The Pressures of Puberty 24

My Parents' Influence 29

Branching Out as an Individual 31

Hallelujah, I'm a Lesbian 34

My Sister's Encounter with Self-Harm 38

Chapter 2 My Quarter-Life Crisis 41

Overwhelmed by the limitless World 41

Beginning to Play with My food 43

College, the Existential Quest 45

Second Guessing Gay 49

My Big Eat Discreet Breakdown 55

Chapter 3 My Secret Battle With Food 59

A Day in the Life of an Eating Disorder 59

My First Time in Therapy 68

Misinterpreting Eastern Philosophy 69

The Transience of Apple Pie 73

Chapter 4 The Road to Recovery 75

Someone to Share the Eight With 75

The Ugly Face of Bulimia 82

Finding Freedom in Letting Go 91

Part 2 10 Life Tips To Heal You From Self-Harm 98

Chapter 5 Reflect On The Root Causes Of Your Behavior 105

20 Reasons I Starved Myself 107

Chapter 6 Stop Playing The Victim 116

Chapter 7 Make Time To Make Peace With Your Body 122

Chapter 8 Speak Up And Ask For What You Need 140

Chapter 9 Trust Your Intuition 146

Chapter 10 Make Choices That Make You Happy 151

Chapter 11 Spend Your Energy Wisely 157

Stop Trying to Please Everyone 158

Choose Friends and Romantic Partners Who Accept You for You 160

Limit Exposure to Environments and Personalities that Drain You 163

Align Your Everyday Work with Your Personality 164

Exercise Just Enough But Not Too Much 166

Chapter 12 Organize Your Living Space To Promote Wellbeing 168

Chapter 13 Eat Mindfully, But Not Neurotically 176

Chapter 14 Check In With Yourself As You Evolve 193

Chapter 15 Final Words 201

Additional Resources 206

Acknowledgments 221

About the Author 224

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An intimate and engrossing memoir/narrative meets an empowering self-help guide for sufferers of anorexia and bulimia." ─ Joshua Rosenthal, Founder and Director of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Interviews

In the 5+ years I’ve been employed by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a college that uses social media to reach, educate, and support students and followers worldwide, I have become an expert. My job includes promoting IIN college programs through: writing marketing copy; developing websites; creating surveys and analyzing results to evolve programs; streamlining processes, and increasing customer awareness and satisfaction. I am the Course Administrator for the Launch Your Dream Book program, teaching students to self-publish and promote books in health and wellness. I am also the Course Administrator for the Advanced Business and Marketing program, which includes developing cutting edge tools and resources for building a business online such as: specific online marketing, social media, networking, referral marketing, copywriting, website development, public speaking, workshops, publicity, etc. I am now utilizing these tools to promote Starving in Search of Me.



Speaking: I have conducted writing workshops for adolescents at various high schools, libraries, and Barnes and Noble locations through NY’s Huntington Youth Bureau. I’ve conducted emotional eating workshops for women at various yoga centers, cafes, and special event locations. Once my book is published, I will schedule workshops specifically for Starving in Search of Me. I also co-taught a summer writing workshop for adolescents at SUNY Purchase College. And at Integrative Nutrition College, I’ve presented more than 150 webinars on various topics in health, wellness, publishing, business, and marketing. Additionally, I am pitching myself to SUNY Purchase College, Sarah Lawrence College, The Center (NYC Community Center for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community), The New York Open Center, Bluestockings Bookshop, and NEDA (The National Eating Disorders Association).

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews