Katy Waldman Anorexia

Understanding Anorexia is More than a Science

In a time when the United States is fraught with social justice issues, frenzy over the impending presidential election, and dramatic, yet often trivial headlines attracting our attention the daily musings of our favorite celebrities, serious issues can easily be swept under the proverbial rug of America’s consciousness. Anorexia is one of those issues that doesn’t always receive the attention it deserves. In her essay on the topic, Katy Waldman, a correspondent for Slate Magazine shares her own experiences with anorexia as well as findings from medical professionals in an effort to dispel commonly held misconceptions surrounding the disorder as well as raise awareness for its presence in society.

By admitting very early on that she herself has struggled with anorexia and weaving her status as a relatively recent college graduate from a prestigious university throughout the text, Waldman establishes credibility for herself. The admission that both she and her identical twin sister dealt with anorexia at varying times in their lives further solidified Waldman’s credibility. It is one thing to read about a topic written by someone you know is well versed in whatever field their writing about based on their academic background, but it becomes something totally different with a wider range of emotions attached when you know that what is being written is someone’s life and involves issues that are still currently being worked on. These transparent and raw aspects of Waldman’s writing create the pathos in “There Once Was a Girl.” When explaining the onset of her eating disorder, Waldman states, “When we were 17, I developed anorexia, impelled by some unpoetic cacophony of motivations: wanting to be close to her, wanting to compete with her, wanting to rescue her, wanting to cancel her out. (Waldman)” The age range that Waldman provides as the time she actively identified as being anorexic as well as the periods in which she was in recovery, “As I dipped in and out of recovery after college, my disorder started to morph, losing any illusory claim it could have made on wan, heroic reserve or glamorous pallor or what have you,” both work to confirm to the audience that she has insightful knowledge of the disorder in both its active and inactive stages. The dynamic between the two sisters is interesting as well because it is widely known that twins often share an especially deep bond; in this case, anorexia was another aspect of their lives that they shared. Because this is a personal account, and the author has shared her own feelings and/or experiences, it makes it more difficult for her argument to be