This book is about an actress who had an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa. Does this sound familiar? Before beginning to read this book, I looked at the inside cover and immediately believed I was going to endure a literate, extended version of 'Behind the Music' (only without the music, drugs, or groupies). Well, everyone knows that they say about judging books by their cover, right? Room to Grow by Tracey Gold is about her life and her battle with anorexia, but if you're looking for preachy, 'look-at-poor-beautiful-me,' tear glistening in eye cripe, then you won't find it here.
Room to Grow uses fairly simple language to show the development of a problem, the recognition and the conquering of it. Throughout the book, one accepts that acting was simply something Gold did. It didn't define her and it wasn't the cause of her anorexia. Like most little girls, Gold had grown up wanting to please and (with a little help from movies and books) began to believe that if she was skinnier, it would be better. The book itself is not so much autobiographical as it is informative. Gold's life acts simply as a backdrop to the main topic, a disease that kills.
Gold isn't asking for sympathy. She explains this in the first chapter. She just wants to know that somebody read this and it helped them to better understand the disease and to seek help if they have it. Well, I read it and I commend her for caring enough to write it. ...
When I read this book, I learned a lot about Tracey that I had never known. She is a very honest writer, In the book she talks about when she first became sexually active, menstruation, she shares excerpts from her diary, letters to her husband and many other things that you do not expect in a "celebrity" book. I have read Room To Grow twice, and I think because I am writing this review, I will read it again! I cannot reccommend this book to anyone enough. I let one of my friends borrow it, and after she read it she got her own copy! It is not just for female eating disorder victims, it is for anyone who wants to read it! The number of pages may seem short, but I found the book to be like a long adventure. This is by far the best celebrity-written book I have ever read!
5/5 stars (*****)