Anorexia

Published by Accent Press Ltd – 2006 ISBN 1905170351 Copyright © Katie Metcalf 2006 The right of Katie Metcalf to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, PO Box 50, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire SA72 6WY. Printed and bound in the UK by Cox & Wyman, Reading, UK Cover Design by James Bridle The publisher acknowledges the financial support of the Welsh Books Council

Anorexia – A Stranger in the Family

The reason I decided to create a book in which my family could be involved was so that they had an opportunity to express in their own words, exactly how they have felt about the demon Anorexia, which became an unwanted part of our family, and how they feel it has affected them as individuals. Also, how they dealt with it, and how they think it has affected the family as a functioning unit. By participating and printing their inner most thoughts and feelings in black and white, they are granting you, the reader, permission to view their lives – their worlds, where fear, curiosity, passion, anticipation, hatred and love live together. I have also taken this opportunity to write about how I believe my illness has affected the lives of the family and all our friends, as well as the effect that it has had on me, as an individual. My family as well as many others who have suffered in similar ways, feel Anorexia is a demon, and that its voice is what anorexics find themselves listening to. Katie Metcalfe

1

2

Part 1

January 2001 was the time I decided I wanted to be more fit, healthier and slimmer. Just a stupid New Year’s Resolution made at the naïve age of fourteen – a time...