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Thin is a conflicting book for me. A photographic essay set at the Renfrew Centre and curated by Lauren Greenfield presents a series of trauma narratives intended to highlight how eating disorders do not discriminate. Much has been made of the access Greenfield was afforded to the lives of patients and the trust she earned. Excerpts from journals were selected, as were some collages - but it really should be noted these were carefully selected to present a specific narrative designed by Greenfield and therein lies the problem.

Although Greenfield is successful in presenting a range of people in race and age, the defining narrative plays into already established beliefs and stereotypes of eating disorders - it was about "fat". Also problematic is the inclusion of lowest weights, daily caloric intakes, weight loss methods, and extreme exercise programs. The access Greenfield was afforded to both patients and experts would have made her aware of the triggering nature of this information - especially when presented with visual representation of the people in question. Language and text married together forms a powerful narrative for those susceptible to disordered eating or already with an eating disorder. This book would knowingly exacerbate the competitive nature of the disease if the reader was already suffering.

It's hard for me to say who this book would benefit. For those of us in academia who have read memoirs, trauma narratives, and theory late into the night until we fell asleep - it offers nothing new other than images alongside the origin stories. Families and friends have already seen people they care about lie about food and suffer. Those of us who suffer have seen all of this and more in the annals of eating disorder communities all across the internet, in recovery groups, in hospital. Perhaps this book is aimed towards those who have had the luck to never encounter an eating disorder unless it was splashed across the cover of US Weekly, or the rumour of that girl in school. Although Greenfield states her intended audience, her intention doesn't seem to match the finished product.

If anything, Greenfield was successful in illustrating the difficulty in recovering. In following some of the patients, she is able to demonstrate how difficult recovery is outside of a hospital setting where one has to juggle the needs of real life, with the voice and influence of an eating disorder. The people in this book are chronic, and many have been struggling for several years. It also highlights inefficiencies and inequities of eating disorder treatment, yet offering solutions and posing questions falls outside the scope of this study.

Where Greenfield is most successful is in giving the Eating Disorder another platform to speak. Although Eating Disorders are secretive, they also crave attention. The more they are fed, the more powerful they are. Much has been made of the communal nature of ED's - especially in narratives such as "how to disappear completely", "Wasted", and "Empty". Thin depicts this flawlessly.

I would 100% not recommend this to any person who is in recovery; has an Eating Disorder; or, has a history of disordered eating practices. If you do and need to read this for research, please make your treatment team aware.