Dear Readers,
Welcome to Title Talk, 10.2019. Sharing my review of The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib. This book was my virtual book club’s choice for our October read and I devoured it. With my ears. Made every excuse to go somewhere in my car so I could listen to the book on Audible. Set a new personal best for finishing one of our book club titles in under ten days I think. It is going to snow!!
I think the reason I enjoyed – not enjoyed but, maybe, liked this book so much was because it hit close to home. Let me explain. But before I do, here’s a little information about the book.
The Girls at 17 Swann Street
[source]
4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon
4.0 out of 5 stars on Goodreads
“A singular celebration of the lifesaving power of community and small gestures.” – The New York Times Book Review
“This absorbing page-turner illuminates the raw courage of people who, struggling for their lives, somehow find the strength to support those around them.” – People Magazine, February 2019 People Picks
“Zgheib’s lyrical, dream-like style will resonate with fans of Wally Lamb’s and Anne Tyler’s novels and Augusten Burroughs’ memoirs.” – Booklist
Just realized in preparing this post that this is Yara Zgheib’s debut novel. Oh, to write like this the first time out of the gate. Yara describes herself as a “constant writer, traveler, daydreamer…a bookworm, writer, and passionate consumer of wine and chocolate” [source]. And I would add fellow blogger as she also writes at Aristotle at Afternoon Tea.
Synopsis
From Goodreads, here:
The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.
Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.
Yara Zgheib’s poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting, intimate journey of a young woman’s struggle to reclaim her life. Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.
My Review
The Girls at 17 Swann Street took me back in time to my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. Like the main character, Anna, I was anorexic. Coincidentally (or not), we both weighed 88 pounds at our lowest point and were of similar height, around 5’6″, I think. I was taking ballet in my freshman year of college but would not call myself a dancer. I do remember, however, my dance teacher complimenting me at 88 pounds for finally having a dancer’s body.
Did a little research trying to determine if the author has ever suffered from anorexia nervosa but was unable to find anything that would suggest that. This story has such a authentic feel, the characters do things and feel emotions that I remember feeling during my struggles. As I read or listened to this book, poignantly narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, old memories came flooding back and Anna became even more real to me.
Rituals We Shared
Not eating anything but an apple for days. And then, only eating an apple because her stomach was growling so loudly. I did the same thing. When we finally did eat an apple, we would cut them into the tiniest little bits in order to make the apple last longer.
Anna began preparing food for her loved ones. So did I. In some ways, it is a distraction so others don’t notice how little the anorexic is eating. It is also a way of controlling how food is prepared. I remember my mother adding a pat of margarine when cooking canned vegetables. That horrified me as an anorexic.
Weighing daily, multiple times a day, weighing after each trip to the bathroom. Being cold all the time. Noticing a light layer of hair coming up all over the anorexic’s body. Ceasing to menstruate because of excess exercise and/or lower than normal body mass. Not eating all day in anticipation of dinner out, even a simple meal.
Zgheib paints a very accurate portrait of Anna and the girls at 17 Swann Street. She weaves eating disorder statistics and educational information on recovery through secondary characters like the ‘Direct Care’ staff at Swann Street. The reactions of family members and other loved ones to Anna’s illness are also accurate. Anorexics are so fragile, like porcelain or blown glass dolls. Those who love an anorexic often walk on egg shells around her.
Causes of Anorexia and Other Eating Disorders
There is no one reason why someone develops an eating disorder. Many factors such as “a combination of biological, psychological, and/or environmental abnormalities contribute to the development of these illnesses.” [source] The professionals at 17 Swann Street quiz Anna about any kind of trauma that might have triggered her anorexia. She seems almost oblivious to the impact some of the traumatic occurrences in her young life could have had. I was never sure what caused my own disorder and may never know.
It was 1974 when I first became sick; before anorexia was really even a thing. Before Karen Carpenter’s death. Before Princess Diana’s public battles with eating disorders.
This book will stay with me for a long time, where other books I have read and liked soon slip away from memory. Had to listen to The Girls on 17 Swann Street in little segments because it was so hauntingly familiar. Then needed time to process, remember and reflect before picking it up again. But the story is told in many bite-sized chapters that made doing so easier. I rated this book, a heart-breaking but ultimately hopeful story of overcoming one’s demons, a 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Your Turn
Have you or anyone you’ve known struggled with an eating disorder? I was surprised that several of the gals in our virtual book club shared that this book hit close to home for them, too. Some of them on a personal level, some through an immediate family member. Those who read the book seemed to like it and be deeply moved by Anna’s story.
For more information on eating disorders, please visit Eating Disorder Hope, here.
Hugs and kisses,
Julie | This Main Line Life
This is really interesting. So sorry that you struggled with this when you were younger. A friend of mine was bulimic for a while. It’ was mostly after we left for college though so I was a little more removed from it and it was tough supporting her when we were so far apart. She came out of it ok though, luckily. That’s one reason I’m so glad that my daughter is a swimmer. I think girls who are involved in sports tend to appreciate the strength of their bodies and it helps with body image… also swimmers are in those little suits every day and tend to be VERY comfortable with their bodies… more so than most girls at that age.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
My best friend and I were both big dieters our senior year of high school. She read this post then emailed me to say she hadn’t realized how much weight I lost that year. I appreciate your suggestion that athletes – especially swimmers – appreciate the strength of their bodies. I agree. Would bet they view their bodies as a piece of athletic equipment where others young women view their bodies as just a figure, a shape. When I was in high school, girls were just beginning to play sports. I think there was a tennis team, maybe basketball. I was too shy for team sports, and lacked any confidence in my athletic ability, so running became my preferred exercise. So glad you daughter has a healthy view of her body. I am afraid both of my babies struggle with a love-hate relationship similar to what I experienced.
Dara
I did not know this about you and thank you for opening up about it here today. I had a friend in middle school who had bulimia, or at least threw up sometimes after meals. We went to the guidance counselor and told her and our friend was very mad at us! I do want to read this book.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
You know, I never got to the throwing up or laxative-taking aspect of anorexia. Throwing up would never have been an option for me! I cannot stand to be sick to my stomach. I just stopped eating and started exercising like crazy.
Glad you ‘told on’ your friend in middle school. You did the right thing and you might have just saved her life!
Gale Johnston
Wow, Leslie! This book is on my “want to read” list, and it just moved up to the top! Your commentary is so profound. I think some people who have gone through what you did and then read this book would be hesitant about sharing their intimate connection to the book. I applaud you for your openness and honesty. Your dance teacher COMPLIMENTED you for having a dancer’s body at 88 pounds?! That’s terrifying to me. Thank you for such a compelling post.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Gale, thank you so much for the sweet comment. I hope you will read “The Girls at 17 Swann Street.” Most women can relate in some way to a struggle with weight, eating, exercise, counting calories. I am not sure why I went off the deep-end, though. Probably just a lack of self-esteem and this darn, life-long battle with perfectionism. There isn’t a day, or a meal that I don’t think about the calories of what I am about to eat, preparing for dinner, craving for a snack but I have learned to manage those thoughts.
Retirement Reflections
Hi, Leslie – Thank you for sharing this so openly and candidly. Your complete honesty is what drew me to follow your blog in the first place. Your straightforwardness, combined with your compassion and understanding, is a huge support for others.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Donna!!! Thank you so much. What a heart-warming message.
Joanne Tracey
Wow, what a beautiful review. I can only imagine the memories it brought back. I have a family member who was anorexic in her last couple of years at school, still stops eating when she’s depressed & will, I think, always have an unhealthy relationship with food. At family events, she’ll either arrive late so she doesn’t need to eat or busy herself by making others eat or gathering food for her son so again she doesn’t need to eat. It breaks my heart in that so many of life’s joys are around socialising over food or drink.
As an aside, I haven’t yet done the audiobook thing…
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Joanne, for the thoughtful comment. I am sad for your family member who struggles with eating issues. While my love-hate relationship with food, thoughts of counting calories and my weight are always floating around in my head to some extent, I am generally able to manage normally. My youngest daughter had issues with dieting in college and begged me to think of activities we could do as a family that didn’t revolve around eating and food. That was tough!
Laura Bambrick
I applaud you for sharing your story and what you went through. I was borderline anorexic in college. I weighed 104lbs at 5’5″. I was running almost 7 miles a day and trying to only eat 1000 calories. I’m thankful I had people to warn me and encourage me to get counseling which helped. I still struggled through the rest of college and into my 20s though. I’m much better now, but I have my days. I’m thankful for all the awareness and help there is now!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Aww, Laura, I am sorry you have struggled with eating issues, too. Eating, my weight, exercise are constantly on my mind. Maybe not in the forefront but always there somewhere. I am eating a peanut butter sandwich as I type this. I used to love PB & J but dumped the jelly because it adds sugar and calories. Sad that at 61, I can’t let myself just enjoy my favorite sandwich combination. But, I am enjoying wearing a size 6 these days.
Never ran more than 3.5 miles. Can’t imagine 7 miles!! No wonder you have such great legs. Bless your heart. I started dieting by trying to eat no more 1300 calories, then 1000, then 800 and then almost nothing. Our poor bodies. Thank you for sharing a bit about your struggle.
Daenel T.
What a poignant review. I ‘be never known anyone who has suffered from an eating disorder but I can imagine it’s devastating for the individual and the family….I know one never “gets over” an illness like anorexia, but I’m happy that you’re here and are able to share your experiences. Your story and this book may help someone…
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Daenel. Eating, my size, my weight, the points I have consumed and the calories I have burned are always dancing around, taunting me in the back of mind. It is true you don’t really get over anorexia, you just learn to control it.
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
I have never had anorexia, but I was really skinny (fast metabolism) when I was a child. I am sure with social media being as popular as it is these days that anorexia is probably an even bigger problem. I’m sure reading this book did bring back some memories for you. I can’t imagine eating only an apple for a few days. Or weighing only 88 lbs and 5’6 is how tall I am! I think as mothers/grandmothers this is something we need to keep an eye out for with our own children/grandchildren, it can be so scary!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I worry a lot about my oldest granddaughter. She has always said she doesn’t want to be a giant – ever since she was just old enough to talk. We think she is talking about weight not height. And she is very sensitive to my daughter’s weight and has expressed concern that if my daughter gets pregnant, she might not lose the ‘baby weight’ afterward. All of that is concerning to me. Most children are just happy at the prospect of having a brother or sister and don’t worry about their mom’s size. Cady is a very picky eater, too, although less picky than ever before. I wonder if some of that picky eating with her and with Lucia are already power struggles that anorexias face.
Shugunna Alexander
What a powerful read and I’m glad you are better. Thank you for sharing your story Leslie, I know that sharing such a huge piece of your past had to be hard; thank you for trusting this audience with your triumph over this desease.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for reading my book review. One of the gals in my book club mentioned that the author could have used this story as a platform for touching on how most people get complimented when they lose weight up to a certain point. Diet culture was never brought up when it is everywhere and probably detrimental to someone healing from an eating disorder. I felt spurred on to lose weight by my ballet teacher who announced that I finally had a ballet figure when I weighed 88 pounds.
Debbie Harris
This was very brave of you to share Leslie and I’m glad you enjoyed the book due to it resonating in this way with you. The daughter of a friend of mine suffered with this in high school and with the support of family and medical intervention came though OK. It really was a worrying time for the family. The book looks interesting! #mlstl