Oooh I loved the ending. This carried me along. I particularly liked getting a glimpse into how insidious the starvation mindset was—how it crept in unobserved.
And it makes sense too that it would resurface in Japan based on how small everyone is there. The one time I was in danger of an eating disorder (praise God I didn’t actually develop one) was when I was running competitive cross country in early high school, and I started noticing that many of the best female runners basically hadn’t gone through puberty because their bodies were so overworked. It seemed that was the price to pay for elite athletic performance. Later, one of my friends did develop curves, and her performance plummeted.
But at some point, I guess you’ve got to make the calculus—is it better to sacrifice your health, conversation, social life, and basically everything in return for whatever your regimen is giving you? I think you showed that point of decision well.
Oooh I loved the ending. This carried me along. I particularly liked getting a glimpse into how insidious the starvation mindset was—how it crept in unobserved.
And it makes sense too that it would resurface in Japan based on how small everyone is there. The one time I was in danger of an eating disorder (praise God I didn’t actually develop one) was when I was running competitive cross country in early high school, and I started noticing that many of the best female runners basically hadn’t gone through puberty because their bodies were so overworked. It seemed that was the price to pay for elite athletic performance. Later, one of my friends did develop curves, and her performance plummeted.
But at some point, I guess you’ve got to make the calculus—is it better to sacrifice your health, conversation, social life, and basically everything in return for whatever your regimen is giving you? I think you showed that point of decision well.
I loved the format of this piece. I savored every revelation. 😘