The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib is a difficult story written with beautiful words.

I call it the Van Gogh bedroom. Just a different color scheme. Hazy peach blanket, hazy peach walls. Pastel green carpet on a cherry wood floor. White blinds and shutters, the window and closet creak. Everything is pale and faded, a little like me.

See, even from the opening sentences it is beautiful. However, it’s the most real story of anorexia that I have read. Spoiler: there’s a happy ending but no cure.

Backtracking to who calls it the Van Gogh bedroom. It’s Anna Roux, a French ballerina who’s madly in love with her husband. Then an injury stops her dancing for a while. Her husband accepts a job in America. She tries working as a dancer in Missouri but the troupes are already full. Alone in the home, Anna slips into a thought spiral of her (perceived) imperfections, failures, and loneliness. By the time she’s wasted to only 88 pounds, she’s diagnosed with anorexia and admitted to 17 Swann Street.

While it’s Anna’s story (her current and her past which lead to her illness), it’s also the story of the other women in the center. Emm is the unofficial leader of the patients, who has been in an out of in-patient care for most of her life. Julia compulsively eats. And there are others. We watch them become a little family of sorts, supporting each other through six carefully monitored meals a day.

It’s probably safe to assume but The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a huge trigger for people with eating disorders and mental illness. It’s also a huge lesson for the experiences of people with anorexia and the treatments. I appreciate (same spoiler as before) that there’s no riding off in the sunset eating a five-course dinner. Anna gets the best ending she could.

Yes, I ugly cried reading this. Even with that, I recommend you read The Girls at 17 Swann Street.

A riveting book.. It takes you into the world of females that are anorexic and bulimic. In 17 Swan Street. Is a group of people that are trying to save these women. It is not all sunshine and happiness. Anna was admitted there by her husband Matthias. He was trying to save her. She was his everything. I get the feeling that the statistics quoted in this book of people who survive, people who relapse and people who don't make it are real. This just made me think of Karen Carpenter.

Thank you to Partner NetGalley for the awesome opportunity to read this book before publication. The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib is a powerful, gripping novel written by a commanding, courageous writer who addresses eating disorders and mental health head on. It is a story that needs to be told, and Zgheib tells it in a captivating way that forces the reader to take a good long look at the reality of that situation for everyone involved.
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This story is the struggle of Anna Roux, an anorexic twenty-six year old married French woman living in America with her husband of three years, Matthias. As the story unfolds, Anna has been voluntarily placed in care at 17 Swann Street in DC, a residential facility for women with severe anorexia or bulimia. The novel is a powerful examination of everything leading up to that moment side by side with the experience of being in the residential facility itself, trying to find a way back from starvation and into life.

Most notable about this novel is the raw, direct way that Anna's narration depicts how unbelievably difficult it is for someone with anorexia nervosa to overcome it, even when that person desperately wants to be well. Throughout the novel, it is readily apparent that Anna's husband Matthias adores her and that her father and sister in France are still very close to her. However, Zgheib reveals how little the family intervenes, even when they see that Anna is in crisis. Even Matthias does not act:
"They had both become too comfortably settled in the magical kingdom of makebelieve. She
made believe that she was happy and all was fine, and he made believe it was true. It was less
painful than confrontation. Confrontation just led to fights. And so she ate nothing and they
both ate lies through three years of marriage, for peace, at the occasional cost of no more roller
coasters, no more sharing ice cream and French fries."
Matthias, who clearly loves Anna dearly and sees that she is suffering, cannot find a way to reach her. Anna's other family members also do not know what to say; what they do say only leads to brutal fights. And so they go on in silence until it is absolutely impossible to keep going. The pathway back is a long and painful one for all of them, and the end is uncertain.

By tracing the path of Anna's life, Zgheib shows how someone who is seemingly successful, happy, in love, and willing to change and grow spirals down into a husk of a person, unable to look at much less consume food. Zgheib demonstrates how some catastrophic childhood events coupled with dancing ballet, concern over body image, pressure to lose weight, and major life changes in early adulthood result in a profoundly severe situation for Anna as she finds herself starving to death.

I also loved the way that Zgheib incorporates facts and statistics into the narration; those biting details make real for the reader how destructive and deadly both anorexia and bulimia can be. Zgheib lays bare the cruel facts about how anorexia physically destroys the body. As Anna lives at 17 Swann Street, she arms herself with information about the disease that plagues her body. Throughout the novel, Anna notes what she learns, such as what she read in the patient manual: "Only 33% of women with anorexia nervosa maintain full recovery after nine months. Of those, approximately one-third will relapse after the nine-month mark." Some of the information is terribly discouraging, but Anna seems to take comfort in the knowing, even if knowing is painful.

Anna's time at the house is unbelievably difficult for her. The regimes are brutal for the girls there, and the methods can be severe, though the readers comes to understand how vital those methods are for the women. Feeding tubes become a fact of life for anyone who refuses to comply with the meal plans. The required therapy sessions threaten to tear Anna apart. It's clear that the people who work there have seen everything that Anna is experiencing before, and they can sometimes seem callous and even cruel from her perspective. Yet those caretakers are saving the lives of the women there, as Anna comes to understand.

I found Anna's tale captivating, and I believe that Zgheib speaks to many of the misconceptions and biases surrounding anorexia nervosa and bulimia, forcing the reader to take a clear-eyed look at the brutal reality of life for a person living with either of those conditions. Strikingly compelling and full of heartbreak but even fuller of hope, this is a phenomenal novel that will stay with the reader long after finishing.

What a gut-wrenching read. What a very important read. I did not think I would get so emotional reading this but I did. My heart broke for Anna and the other girls at 17 Swann Street, most there because of the eating disorder Anorexia nervosa. This book is so uniquely and beautifully written that I found I just could not put it down. This is one that will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommended it.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I had to struggle to come up with a star rating for this book. It's the story of an anorexic told in the first person. What a struggle it was-it was so painful to read and yet beautiful and compelling. I couldn't put it down.
This is Anna's story-a Parisian ex-ballerina who has moved to the US for her husband's career and then somehow loses herself. The only thing that she can control is her eating-I never realized before how tied to anxiety and depression anorexia is. I won't say that I could see myself with a similar problem but I really felt like I could understand it better.
Wonderful debut by Zgheib. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in return for my honest review.

An amazing book that I could not put down. The story follows Anna through the treatment of anorexia in the treatment center at 17 Swann Street. It deals with the emotional and physical challenges that these women are going through. It just broke my heart.

This is a debut author that told a beautiful story of Anna rediscovering her life. I believe this book should be read by every teenage girl. I highly recommend this book!!

Anna has relocated to the U.S. from Paris with her husband, unable to find work dancing and isolated, she finds refuge exercising and limiting her food intake. Eventually, her extreme dieting manifests as anorexia and Anna lands in a treatment facility with few choices except to participate or face forced IV feeding. Author Yara Zgheib writes a moving account of the personal battles faced by young women in treatment for anorexia. Switching between Anna’s viewpoint and that of her caregivers, the book is impossible to put down as readers grasp the pain and frustration of the search for control that underlies so much of this disease. This is a moving and memorable tale of one woman’s struggle with anorexia. I received my copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a wonderful and powerful debut novel from Yara Zgheib. For me it started off slow and I kept putting it off. But when I finally sat down with the book for real, it hooks you in until the end. It is a poignant story about eating disorders and the devastating affects it can have on the person who suffers as well as those around them.

How this book and Zgheib weaves the story from different points of view gives you a unique look at how eating disorders can destroy people. We first see the point of view of our main character, Anna Roux, and how she comes to 17 Swann Street, a treatment center. We then toggle back and forth between the present day and her past, looking at how she came to arrive there. We also then toggle with her assessment forms from the clinic. All these flow in and out of each other to give you a bigger picture on how can eating disorders people's lives.

I felt so many emotions while reading this book. I felt the pain of the diseases and the struggles not just for Anna but for all the girls at 17 Swann Street. I felt the empathy of those who are trying to help these women and both their breakthroughs and losses. And you felt the anger that the perpetuation of skinny mentality of our society. Thin is in...and so forth. And you felt the heartbreak of each of the people, both sufferers and family/friends alike.

Such a great first novel out for Zgheib. I look forward to seeing what else she puts out.

Thanks to the publisher for including me in the blog tour for The Girls at 17 Swann Street. This book was brutally honest look into the life of someone with a serious eating disorder. Uncomfortable and depressing at times, this book does not shy away from the truth about anorexia, and the toll it takes both physically and emotionally. This story was beautifully written, but not for the faint of heart.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib is a story about Anna Roux, who is struggling with anorexia. Anna was a ballerina while living in Paris. She, then, moved to Missouri with her husband because of a job offer he had accepted there. As husband and wife, they were very supportive of each other. Anna is lucky because she has a husband who loves her and who will support her through this hard time.
Because of her struggle with anorexia, she was admitted into a rehab facility at 17 Swann Street.

This very insightful books details the struggles and lives of the girls in this rehab and, believe me, the struggles are very difficult and very real. Not only are they physically struggling but the mental struggling is so very overwhelming; however, the girls are all very supporting of each other. It was very interesting to learn how the girls have to cope with their issues in their own way, as rehab is different for every individual.

I totally recommend this well written and insightful book. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this book.

This was a very touching and emotional story of Anna, a woman who is 88 pounds when she enters a residential treatment house for eating disorders. She has moved to the US from France, where she was once a ballet dancer. This novel gives a glimpse into what recovery with an eating disorder may look like. As someone who has not dealt with this particular issue, it was informative and educational. At the heart of the story is love. Love between Anna and her husband as well as Anna and her father. I was particularly touched by the moments Anna shared with her father. I did think, going into this reading, that the book was going to be more about how ballet and dancing created an atmosphere where she started to restrict her eating but that was not really the main storyline - it is mostly about her time in recovery.

I think everyone should read Anna's story , once you start reading you will not want to put the book down as you are with Anna on her journey to recovery , open and honest portrayal of what's its like for someone fighting for their life and coping with the everyday knowledge of what this Illness does to ones body , heart , mind and soul.., as well as what it does to family and friends , heart wrenching , soul searching , must read !

l really liked this book. It was hard to read sometimes - anorexia and bulemia are not pretty subjects. It was well-written; it draws you in right away and makes it so you want to keep reading to find out what happens. I really liked the end (It is really hard writing about this book without giving away spoilers!!). All in all well done, would definitely read more by this author.

An emotional and intriguing story about a woman living with anorexia, The Girls at 17 Swann Street centers on a rehabilitation center for eating disorders and the women that are getting treatment. Anna used to be a ballet dancer in Paris, but when she and her husband move to the US for his work, she gets pulled even further into her disease. I read this story in 24 hours, it was hard to put it down. My only complaint is the lack of quotation marks with dialogue. Italics are used for dialogue, thoughts, and memories, which makes it a little difficult at times to follow.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel through Netgalley in exchange for my review. This was our book club selection for this month and everyone loved it! I must confess that I was not excited to read a book about anorexia, but this book was really good, and took an in-depth look at eating disorders for a woman that wasn’t a teenager, but a married ballet dancer that just slowly needed more control over what she ate. Her control issues landed her at 17 Swann Street a residential last stop for people with eating disorders. I thought the author portrayed the absolute agony of eating your way back to health while in the grips of this disease. She also painted a very intricate picture of how difficult an eating disorder is on a spouse and the family. This was just really a fascinating look at this very complex issue and a perfect read for book clubs.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is the emotional story of Yara Zgheib's recovery from anorexia. I loved reading every word of this very well written memoir. I applaud her on her very brave resolve to get well. I can also say, having read numerous other memoirs, that this book was written in a very compelling style. I didn't want to put it down, and read it in record time.

My only negative concern, and it's small, is that there were times when I was a little confused when the writing went from plain text to italicized text and then back to plain text.

I would recommend this book to women readers, especially those who struggle with certain emotional demons, and those of us who applaud their journeys into recovery.

I was quite touched reading this characterization of a young woman with anorexia nervosa. Anna, 28 years old and married for three years, has left her home in Paris to follow her husband’s career. Landing in the US, isolated and disconnected from her former identity as a dancer, she struggles with depression and an eating disorder. The story starts with Anna checking in at a residential treatment centre at 17 Swann Street at a mere 88 pounds.

The story is raw and unapologetic as it delves into flashbacks of.events that played a role in Anna’s disease and about the health impacts of eating disorders. The reader is invited an insider glimpse of the girls at Swann Street as they go about their daily routine and battle mental and emotional challenges. At the heart of Anna’s story is the love of her husband and father.

This book hijacked my mind from the start and I read it in one day. I was blown away but it’s authenticity and humanistic qualities. People are fragile. Life is fragile. The question is how badly does one want to live?

A gracious thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of this ebook!

This story was heavy. Early on, I was tempted to put it down but I kept going. It was truly fascinating to hear Anna’s story, her stream of conscious while she fought her disease. I also appreciated the overall message of perseverance and hope. That’s a message everyone could use, regardless of obstacles they may face throughout their life.

We are often saying how we need to read more books that are hard, make us feel uncomfortable, and touch on subjects like mental health. This book does exactly that in such a beautiful lyrical prose. Eating disorders are not often the mental health issues discussed in books and the author found a way to completely captive her readers on such a hard subject. From the very first paragraph I was hooked. It was easy to feel apart of the girl’s lives who resided at Swann Street. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering that is experienced with eating disorders and trying to over come them in any way possible. This book is important to help put you inside the mind of someone who maybe suffering from an eating disorder. To show you how it is not as simple as just eating a meal. How absolutely grueling it is for someone to take a bite of food and how it affects family members too. This book is gut wrenching in all the right ways.
I am so glad I was asked to be part of the blog tour for this book. This was hands down a 5 star read for me.

This story follows a former dancer and her struggle to overcome an eating disorder. The writing style was not for me. The story is a powerful one, and maybe someone with a closer connection to the disorder may enjoy the book more, but I just wasn't a huge fan of reading this recreationally.