Author:Emily Halban
Emily Halban developed anorexia in her final year at school. She went on to university at Oxford where her disease took on a powerful dimension and by her final year she was so debilitated that she had to sit her exams in a separate room where she could be fed continuously throughout each one.
With heartbreaking candour and poignant intimacy, Emily vividly chronicles the complexities and inner struggles of living with anorexia. Two years on, she traces her disease from its elusive origins, through its darkest moments of deprivation, guilt and self-loathing, and finally recounts her journey towards recovery. Emily allows us to understand what it's really like to suffer from anorexia, exposing its secrets and dispelling some of the myths that shroud it.
Alive with self-awareness, but never self-pity, Perfect is an inspiring read that will help those battling with the horrors of anorexia find a way out, and those on the outside to understand more.
...allows a glimpse into the mindset of an anorexic
—— GlamourA brave, brilliant and beautifully written memoir
—— Vicki EdgsonCompellling
—— Easy LivingThere have been many books on the subject of anorexia but this is the first that I have read that both moved me to tears AND gave me the tools to help anyone around me who might suffer from this consuming demon. This book will give hope and help to both sufferers of anorexia and, just as importantly, those who are close to them. A brilliant read and a great, great help.
—— Susie Forbes (Editor) , Easy LivingRemarkably insightful and entertaining, with Clare proving himself to be the most enthusiastic, open-minded, intelligent and incorrigibly romantic of travellers
—— Mail on SundayClare has produced an enthusiastic, often elegiac, chronicle of his encounters with the swallows
—— Brian Schofield , The Sunday TimesHis eye for detail and his elegant pen give flavour of each country he crosses: great veldt and high plateaux, Congo's "green vastness", the "sandy seas" of the Sahel and, finally, the fertile plain of the north African coast
—— The EconomistThe resulting book, travel writing at its very best, is enthralling, passionate, hair-raising, quirky, hilarious, informative, occasionally mad and utterly, utterly brilliant... irresistible stuff.
—— Val Hennessy , Daily MailHoratio Clare pays tribute to the extraordinary migratory journeys of the swallow...a book that combines travel with natural history
—— MetroIt's graphically done, making me feel I was with him all the way
—— The Sunday Telegraph, Seven MagazineClare is engaging and makes a convincing case for the futility of borders
—— Philip Womack , Daily TelegraphAn exciting book, and often very moving
—— Susan Hill , The LadyThis is a book of rare lyrical beauty
—— Brian Maye , Irish TimesHis descriptive prose is faultlessly evocative
—— Daily MailThis is a really excellent critique of the travel industry . . . If you are interested in the tourist industry this book is highly recommended, being easy to read, while being very thorough and searching in the questions it asks.
—— Fiona Archer , www.ecozine.co.ukExcellent and thoroughly compelling . . . The Final Call deserves to be read by those of us lucky enough to be able to fly on a regular basis . . . Hickman's book is a sobering, thoughtful and intelligent reminder that it is a privilege we need to be forcefully reminded not to take for granted.
—— Irish TimesThoughtful and thought-provoking.
—— Mick Herron , GEOGRAPHICAL magazineWell written and engaging without being too gloomy and prescriptive, this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.
—— TelegraphThis much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world's tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the 'virginity' of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.
—— Contours magazine