The Body Tourist

      Wow. I finished The Body Tourist a good 24 hours ago, and my mind can't let go of this book. I've been trying to figure out how to put into words how amazing the memoir is, but my words will never do Shavin's own words justice. Shavin eloquently details her life, beginning when she is a young adult and getting her first "real" job in a halfway house for drug and alcohol addicts. She is young and naive, and thinks that she can hide her half-ass recovery from everyone. Hospitalized years ago for Anorexia Nervosa, Shavin will continue to struggle with this disease throughout the book. As you relive her relationships, trials and growth, you will see that her Anorexia will always be there, following her like a black cloud. As you read, you will notice that Shavin is able to look back on those years, and see that her relationship and housing choices were a direct reflection of how she thought about herself. You will see that Anorexia is not just about food and the body, it's about control. Shavin lets you see her fall down, and pick herself up again. Shavin also lets you see how she grows from a naive counselor at a halfway house, to a graduate student for Psychology, to a new professional working with clients she never thought she wanted to work with, to finally realize her calling as an artist.
      This memoir offers an important window into someone suffering from an eating disorder, and how is permeates their entire life, not just their thoughts surrounding food and weight. But Shavin doesn't let the novel be ONLY about her eating disorder, it is about her life, which is more than Anorexia.