Marya Hornbacher, the author of Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, presents an intriguing mindset that is difficult to understand for one who is not acquainted with the aspects of bulimia and anorexia. "None of you ever use the nurse call button, even if you are having a heart attack, because you aren't really sick. To call a nurse would be ostentatious, as if you thought you really warranted worry, as if you were so weak as to want to get well" (Hornbacher 146). This quote displays the idea that bulimia and anorexia were not considered to be sickness, according to those with the disorders, because they felt their actions made them stronger. Deep down in their minds they knew that their actions were causing harm to themselves, but their disorders gave them a sense of control over their lives and the direction they were headed towards. This quote shows that Marya knew she was sick, but she was in denial for her own sake. She did not want to stop her acts of starvation because it gave her a sense of safety. The quote jumped off the page for me because, if Marya's statement had flipped at this point and she accepted that she was, in fact, sick, then her horrendous journey would not have lasted as long as it did. Marya's recovery might have been a bit simpler. Marya Hornbacher displays several accounts that propose her awareness of her wrongdoings, but the control and the feeling of power were, ultimately, too tempting.
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