The Food of Love by Amanda Prowse

Out Now

Published by Lake Union Publishing

Purchase from Amazon here 

The Blurb:

A loving mother. A perfect family. A shock wave that could shatter everything.

Freya Braithwaite knows she is lucky. Nineteen years of marriage to a man who still warms her soul and two beautiful teenage daughters to show for it: confident Charlotte and thoughtful Lexi. Her home is filled with love and laughter.

But when Lexi’s struggles with weight take control of her life, everything Freya once took for granted falls apart, leaving the whole family with a sense of helplessness that can only be confronted with understanding, unity and, above all, love.

In this compelling and heart-wrenching new work by bestselling author Amanda Prowse, one ordinary family tackles unexpected difficulties and discovers that love can find its way through life’s darkest moments.

My Review:

I am a relative newbie to Amanda Prowse and her work, but wow, wow, wow! This woman sure knows how to write a powerful book about hard hitting subjects that affect many people every day. The theme of The Food of Love the still much misunderstood and hidden taboo of anorexia.

What did I love most about this book? The way that the author has bought to life an illness that for many families is all too real, and something they live with everyday. She has done it in a way that is sensitive, moving and for me very educational and thought provoking. I don’t mind saying that this book gripped me in a way that not many others have. I found it very very hard to walk away from and really didn’t know right up until the very last chapter how it would end.

Being a voyeur I gained an insight into eating disorders in a way that I hadn’t really considered in the past. The helplessness and despair that the family felt jumped off the page and I could also feel those emotions manifesting in me.

I loved (it feels wrong to say love, but you know what I mean hopefully) the way that as a reader we can see not only how it affects the person with the problem, but also the impact on the family, particularly Freya, Lexi’s Mum. That sense of frustration, despair, helplessness and anger were all encompassing for me. So wonderfully put on to paper but bought to life, more than just words on a page.

I have been fortunate that I have never really known a person who has an eating disorder, and whilst thinking I could have some understanding it was only after reading this book that I encountered someone with a severe eating disorder. I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day and there was someone sitting opposite me who was incredibly anxious, and very obviously very underweight. To sit there watching them obsessed with watching others eat and drink whilst constantly checking that their own stomach was perfectly concave bought me back to this book and bought tears to my eyes. To eventually see the person stand up and be able to proudly pull their stomach in to almost meet their spine was chilling.

The book is a story of family, love and I am sure it will be one that as a reader you will be absorbed in and deeply moved by. It is certainly a book that will always stay with me.

Amanda writes books that are beautiful and I cannot recommend them enough. Her writing is down to earth, realistic, and her ability to develop characters that touch your heart, and have you reaching for tissues. Her books will definitely have you riding an emotional rollercaster. I am off to purchase all her back catalogue!