Bread cover art

Bread

A Memoir of Hunger

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Bread

By: Lisa Knopp
Narrated by: Ginger White
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.03

Buy Now for £15.03

Summary

When she was 54, Lisa Knopp’s weight dropped to a number on the scale that she hadn’t seen since seventh grade. The severe food restricting that left her thin and sick when she was 15 and 25 had returned. This time, she was determined to understand the causes of her malady and how she could heal from a condition that is caused by a tangle of genetic, biological, familial, psychological, cultural, and spiritual factors. This compelling memoir, at once a food and illness narrative, explores the forces that cause eating disorders and disordered eating, including the link between those conditions in women, middle-aged and older, and the fear of aging and ageism. Winner of the 2017 Nebraska Book Award for Memoir.

The book is published by University of Missouri Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2016 The Curators of the University of Missouri (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks Eating Disorders Mental Health People with Disabilities Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Memoir Health Missouri
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

“Very highly recommended.” (Midwest Book Review)

“Bread is a gift that will help any reader embrace his or her own resistance story.” (Kate Hopper, author of Ready for Air and Use Your Words)

“A profound and important contribution.” (Sonya Huber, author of Cover Me)
All stars
Most relevant
This book was well read, and had some interesting sections to do with aspects of disordered eating and the ageing female body but wasn't strikingly different to other eating disorder memoirs. It felt more like a book the author needed to write than one that needs to be read, which she partially admits in the final section.
The triptych nature of her illness was interesting, as so often ED memoirs are by young women and we don't often see relapse of people in middle age. (Or a 'recurrence of her malady' as the author would put it - she has never formally been diagnosed and doesn't take on a specific label. I have mixed feelings about her use of the word 'malady' - it works for her, but I'm not sure how other sufferers would relate to it, and it could be an easy way to minimise their own problems.) Having not reached that age, it was harder for me to relate to but was definitely thought provoking and the only part of the book that really offered something new. It's difficult to know whether to feel heartened or dismayed...
Trigger warning - she does mention specific numbers, so if this is an issue for you then I would steer clear. If you want education on eating disorders, this wouldn't be the first book I'd turn to but it is an interesting addition to the memoirs out there.

Thought provoking, but nothing strikingly new

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.