Anorexia is typically viewed as a female problem, but Gary Grahl's new book is an insightful look into the twisted mind of a young man with an eating disorder.
Skinny Boy: A Young Man’s Battle and Triumph Over Anorexia
by Gary A. Grahl, MSE, LPC, NCC
$17.95, American Legacy Media
ISBN: 978-0976154747-4-7
Despite the long-held belief that eating disorders are principally a female affliction, the first nationwide survey conducted by Biological Psychiatry recently discovered that males account for one-fourth of all reported cases. Young men with eating disorders often suffer silently out of fear of being stigmatized with having a “female” illness; consequently, the number of male cases is likely to be significantly underreported. For an estimated eight million males, Skinny Boy: A Young Man’s Battle and Triumph Over Anorexia is likely the best and most effective book to describe a young man’s battle with an eating disorder.
Author Gary A. Grahl was the prototypical all-American boy. He was good looking, popular at school, and increasingly driven to succeed both academically and athletically. His skill as a baseball player drew the attention of major league baseball scouts, and he was on track to sign a professional contract upon graduating from high school.
Aiming for the “perfect body,” his workout routines were initially vigorous, yet still productive. But soon they evolved into obsessive, secretive midnight exercise rituals meant to punish himself for his perceived lack of discipline. He also set out to control his food intake, but that, too, evolved into an obsession where he convinced himself that he didn’t deserve to eat. Although he appeared to be confident and successful, the insecure adolescent developed an aggressive self-hatred. Ironically, his aim to control his surroundings resulted in a dangerous downward spiral that nearly cost him his life.
Skinny Boy puts the reader into the cross-fire between Grahl’s healthy, clear-thinking mind, and what he calls “IT,” the distorted, shaming inner-voice determined to be perfectly thin. As “IT” successfully isolates Gary from family, friends and reality, his critically low body mass led to multiple hospitalizations, and a life and death battle for survival.
Grahl is now a licensed clinical therapist practicing in Wisconsin. In Skinny Boy he uses his clinical experience to expose his distorted teen-age thought processes, and how he justified sabotaging his own treatment. He also tells how he clung to his illness despite learning healthy coping skills and creating therapeutic relationships with his doctor and hospital staff.
Although Grahl provides a unique perspective about the differences between male and female anorexia sufferers, Skinny Boy should not be thought of as just a tell-all book about a young man with anorexia. Grahl’s compelling writing style and purposeful approach into describing his internal dialogue, will ring true among many who exhibit any obsessive or compulsive tendencies. Skinny Boy will also give families of sufferers, clinicians, dieticians and therapists with unparalleled access into the mind of the mentally ill.
