The Boy Who Loved Apples: A mother's battle with her son's anorexia

Brave, honest and ultimately uplifting, The Boy Who Loved Apples is a compelling and beautifully written account of life with an eating disorder, and a gritty, moving testament to a mother’s love.

When it became clear that Amanda Webster’s eleven-year-old son Riche was not just a little too skinny but dangerously ill, people were often surprised.

Do boys get anorexia? they would ask. How did he get it?

That was the question Amanda asked herself, too. She had trained as a doctor; she knew that every disease has a cause. And if her son had an eating disorder, she wondered what the cause could possibly be but something she and her husband Kevin had done—or failed to do? 

Quick to blame both Kevin and herself, worried about how her two other kids were coping, Amanda also found herself at odds with a medical establishment that barely understood Riche’s illness, far less how to treat it. And as she embarked on the long, agonising process of saving her son’s life she found herself battling not just Riche’s demons but her own.

Amanda Webster graduated from the University of Western Australia as a doctor, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. She left medicine to raise a family with her husband, Kevin. Amanda turned to writing after her son Riche’s illness and is currently an MFA candidate in the low residency program at City University of Hong Kong. Her work has appeared in several US literary journals.

textpublishing.com.au 

'...this book is a reminder of the sheer grit it takes to come out the other side of some of life’s unfair deals. Webster shows courage, tenacity and love, both tender and tough. She is an inspiration.' The Hoopla Literary Society 

'The moving story of a mother’s endless, no limits, unconditional love. Gripping.' Jacinta Tynan

'Amanda Webster writes with humour, honesty and hope to create a powerful page turning tale of survival.' Kate Legge

'For any family who lives with a child who is suffering in any way, this book is a reminder of the sheer grit it takes to come out the other side of some of life’s unfair deals. Webster shows courage, tenacity and love, both tender and tough. She is an inspiration.' The Hoopla

'Confronting,insightful and ultimately uplifting... It is a powerful page-turning tale of survival as Amanda Webster bravely and honestly chronicles her son's journey through the hell that is anorexia. But more than just an eating disorder memoir it is a touching and tender tale of a mother's limitless,unconditional love. Beautifully written, it is the ideal book for anyone who has had their life touched by an eating disorder.' Sunshine Coast Daily

'First-time author takes on twin challenges: to write a confessional account of the most difficult time of her life and to educate readers about the complexities of an illness few understand intimately, especially as it applies to boys. She succeeds on both counts...This is an important story delivered with a fantastic eye for detail.' Weekend Australian

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The Boy Who Loved Apples: A mother's battle with her son's anorexia

Brave, honest and ultimately uplifting, The Boy Who Loved Apples is a compelling and beautifully written account of life with an eating disorder, and a gritty, moving testament to a mother’s love.

When it became clear that Amanda Webster’s eleven-year-old son Riche was not just a little too skinny but dangerously ill, people were often surprised.

Do boys get anorexia? they would ask. How did he get it?

That was the question Amanda asked herself, too. She had trained as a doctor; she knew that every disease has a cause. And if her son had an eating disorder, she wondered what the cause could possibly be but something she and her husband Kevin had done—or failed to do? 

Quick to blame both Kevin and herself, worried about how her two other kids were coping, Amanda also found herself at odds with a medical establishment that barely understood Riche’s illness, far less how to treat it. And as she embarked on the long, agonising process of saving her son’s life she found herself battling not just Riche’s demons but her own.

Amanda Webster graduated from the University of Western Australia as a doctor, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. She left medicine to raise a family with her husband, Kevin. Amanda turned to writing after her son Riche’s illness and is currently an MFA candidate in the low residency program at City University of Hong Kong. Her work has appeared in several US literary journals.

textpublishing.com.au 

'...this book is a reminder of the sheer grit it takes to come out the other side of some of life’s unfair deals. Webster shows courage, tenacity and love, both tender and tough. She is an inspiration.' The Hoopla Literary Society 

'The moving story of a mother’s endless, no limits, unconditional love. Gripping.' Jacinta Tynan

'Amanda Webster writes with humour, honesty and hope to create a powerful page turning tale of survival.' Kate Legge

'For any family who lives with a child who is suffering in any way, this book is a reminder of the sheer grit it takes to come out the other side of some of life’s unfair deals. Webster shows courage, tenacity and love, both tender and tough. She is an inspiration.' The Hoopla

'Confronting,insightful and ultimately uplifting... It is a powerful page-turning tale of survival as Amanda Webster bravely and honestly chronicles her son's journey through the hell that is anorexia. But more than just an eating disorder memoir it is a touching and tender tale of a mother's limitless,unconditional love. Beautifully written, it is the ideal book for anyone who has had their life touched by an eating disorder.' Sunshine Coast Daily

'First-time author takes on twin challenges: to write a confessional account of the most difficult time of her life and to educate readers about the complexities of an illness few understand intimately, especially as it applies to boys. She succeeds on both counts...This is an important story delivered with a fantastic eye for detail.' Weekend Australian

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The Boy Who Loved Apples: A mother's battle with her son's anorexia

The Boy Who Loved Apples: A mother's battle with her son's anorexia

by Amanda Webster
The Boy Who Loved Apples: A mother's battle with her son's anorexia

The Boy Who Loved Apples: A mother's battle with her son's anorexia

by Amanda Webster

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Overview

Brave, honest and ultimately uplifting, The Boy Who Loved Apples is a compelling and beautifully written account of life with an eating disorder, and a gritty, moving testament to a mother’s love.

When it became clear that Amanda Webster’s eleven-year-old son Riche was not just a little too skinny but dangerously ill, people were often surprised.

Do boys get anorexia? they would ask. How did he get it?

That was the question Amanda asked herself, too. She had trained as a doctor; she knew that every disease has a cause. And if her son had an eating disorder, she wondered what the cause could possibly be but something she and her husband Kevin had done—or failed to do? 

Quick to blame both Kevin and herself, worried about how her two other kids were coping, Amanda also found herself at odds with a medical establishment that barely understood Riche’s illness, far less how to treat it. And as she embarked on the long, agonising process of saving her son’s life she found herself battling not just Riche’s demons but her own.

Amanda Webster graduated from the University of Western Australia as a doctor, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. She left medicine to raise a family with her husband, Kevin. Amanda turned to writing after her son Riche’s illness and is currently an MFA candidate in the low residency program at City University of Hong Kong. Her work has appeared in several US literary journals.

textpublishing.com.au 

'...this book is a reminder of the sheer grit it takes to come out the other side of some of life’s unfair deals. Webster shows courage, tenacity and love, both tender and tough. She is an inspiration.' The Hoopla Literary Society 

'The moving story of a mother’s endless, no limits, unconditional love. Gripping.' Jacinta Tynan

'Amanda Webster writes with humour, honesty and hope to create a powerful page turning tale of survival.' Kate Legge

'For any family who lives with a child who is suffering in any way, this book is a reminder of the sheer grit it takes to come out the other side of some of life’s unfair deals. Webster shows courage, tenacity and love, both tender and tough. She is an inspiration.' The Hoopla

'Confronting,insightful and ultimately uplifting... It is a powerful page-turning tale of survival as Amanda Webster bravely and honestly chronicles her son's journey through the hell that is anorexia. But more than just an eating disorder memoir it is a touching and tender tale of a mother's limitless,unconditional love. Beautifully written, it is the ideal book for anyone who has had their life touched by an eating disorder.' Sunshine Coast Daily

'First-time author takes on twin challenges: to write a confessional account of the most difficult time of her life and to educate readers about the complexities of an illness few understand intimately, especially as it applies to boys. She succeeds on both counts...This is an important story delivered with a fantastic eye for detail.' Weekend Australian


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781921961113
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Publication date: 07/02/2012
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 721,673
File size: 667 KB

About the Author

Amanda Webster grew up in Kalgoorlie, the goldmining town of Western Australia. She graduated from the University of Western Australia as a doctor, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. She left medicine to raise a family with her husband, Kevin. Amanda turned to writing after her son Riche’s illness and is currently an MFA candidate in the low residency program at City University of Hong Kong. Her work has appeared in several US literary journals. After eight years in the beautiful Byron Shire, Amanda has returned to Sydney where she lives with her husband and two of her three children. 

Read an Excerpt

Riche looked at the high brushwood fence as if it enclosed a gulag. “I’m not going in there.” The lines on his face a roadmap of fear. “You can’t make me.”

I hesitated. I felt like I was having one of those weird dreams where you suddenly find yourself naked in the street or peeing in public.

T
he place didn’t look like a clinic. The fence, the unmarked letterbox and the discreet side entrance gave it more the appearance of a suburban brothel, a place where people came and went unobserved, a place of secrets, a place with stigma attached. But this was no time for squeamishness. Riche had been dangerously thin for three months and was showing signs of cardiac compromise. His pulse rate had been dropping; he got dizzy when he stood. I knew from my medical training that he was at risk of sudden death from cardiac arrest. I opened the gate.

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