There seems to be a recurring theme regarding body image in literature as of late. This book and one by Randy Susan Meyer focusing on the flipside of anorexia both hit hard and take no prisoners.
Anna trained to be a ballerina but due to an injury had to surrender that dream. She has moved from France to America with her husband, Matthias.
Somewhere along the way, Anna develops issues with eating. For her own welfare, she is admitted to 17 Swann Street, a center that deals with eating disorders.
Confront inner demons, make peace with the past and embrace a healthy body image are all key factors to surviving the illness of anorexia.
Anna will make that journey with several other women all in various stages of eating disorders. Will she conquer the illness? More to the point, will she survive?
This book is so well written that you're drawn in completely. You long for each character to succeed and live a long, normal life in a curvy bodies.
You almost feel as though you're reading Anna's diary or journal as well as her medical charts.
Do not pass this up. Heart wrenching yet hopeful, this novel simply shines.
I received a Advance Review Copy from St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "The Girls at 17 Swann Street
by Yara Zgheib. What a debut! This work of Women's Fiction truly does not feel like fiction, it feels like non-fiction. Anna is a young women who struggles with anorexia. Anna finds herself at 17 Swann Street, amongst other girls who are fighting eating disorders. As someone who has never struggled with an eating disorder, this is a truly eye-opening account inside the mind of someone who does. This book was both beautiful and haunting. I recommend it!

Okay, I guess I'm alone. I found this overwrought, trite, and stereotypical. Almost everything discussed-- from the running of the treatment center to the insurance to the talk of the Olympics-- was so clearly written by someone who didn't understand how any of it works. Honestly, I couldn't get past the inaccuracies to the writing, so I'm not sure what to say about that. THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE ADVANCE READERS COPY.

An interesting book about a dancers fight with aneorexia and her will to live. To live for her husband, father, sister and more importantly herself. This book was a hard one for me to get through. The story was interesting and highlighted how a disease like this takes a toll not only on the person, but also those that surround them. However, the lack of quotation marks and the jumping from past to present without any indicators made it challenging to follow.

Anna was just eighty-eight pounds when her husband, Mathias, dropped her off at 17 Swann Street. After leaving her family behind in Paris to follow her husband to St. Louis, Anna dealt with the loneliness by slowly restricting her diet. Soon she was only eating popcorn and fruit. And her dancer's body was starting to waste away. Finally, Mathias takes a look at Anna and realizes that if he doesn't take immediate action, he will lose Anna forever. Anna is terrified and exhausted and the thought of putting on weight is more than she can handle. Her days at 17 Swann Street starts in the wee hours of the morning with the staff taking her vitals and her weight. She has to eat three meals a day, as well as three snacks. And if she refuses three times in a row, they give her a feeding tube. A feeding tube. The girls at 17 Swann Street are just like Anna. They all struggle with their own food-based demons, but they support each other. With both spoken and written words. They don't leave the table until they are all ready to leave the table. When one hurts, they all hurt. When one celebrates, they all celebrate. Will Anna ever get to celebrate getting her life back? Or will anorexia take everything from her?


The Girls at 17 Swann Street is an achingly beautiful debut novel about a young woman battling anorexia. And make no mistake about it, it is a battle. With every piece of food put in front of her, Anna has to make a conscious decision to eat. Anna has something that most of the other girls in the house do not have, a loving husband that is by her side every step of the way. Even when Anna makes it difficult for him. I loved their relationship. I loved his devotion. I loved how he sought out a special somebody to attend "Family Day." Anorexia is such a lonely disease. It doesn't get much attention in the media. Not since the 80's "After School Special" that I can remember, yet it is very much a battle that gets waged daily by thousands and thousands of women. And men. The author was almost lyrical in her descriptions of Anna's battle. There was one particular moment that stands out when Anna and Mathias went out for dinner. Anna has to wage an internal battle to not restrict her food when ordering. She told her nutritionist what she was going to order and she had to fight to keep that promise. The way the author described that battle was probably some of the best-written literature that I have ever read. Unfortunately, not every girl at 17 Swann Street had a happy ending, but that only made the story seem that much more real.

Bottom Line - The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a beautiful novel about an ugly subject. There are many uncomfortable moments in the book, but Anna and Mathias are characters that you can support and cheer for enthusiastically. Add this one to the Book Club list, you are going to want to discuss it with your girls.

Details:
The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib
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Pages: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 2/5/19
Buy It Here!

When I first started this book I didn't think I was going to like it . It started a little slow for me but the more I read the better it got and I ended up loving the book. It was a great read! It's hard to imagine that people will starve themselves. I tend to go the other way. This book kind of gives you the opportunity to see their point of view. I want to thank netgalley for the opportunity to read this informative book for a honest review.

This is a gripping novel of girl's suffering from anorexia. It gave me a whole new perspective on what the disease is and the pain that it causes.. The book pulls you into the lives of these young girl's and all the trials they go through Some girls recover but unfortunately some do not.. It was both informative and sad. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it.

This was a very powerful debut; I look forward to more from Zgheib. This book is wonderful and haunting. The author paints a very realistic picture of the struggles with eating disorders. I could not put this down. My heart went out to the characters and they will stick with me for a long time. I really enjoyed the writing style as well. I would definitely recommend!
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A compulsive read. I started reading this book last night. I read early this morning. I read when I went the gym and I read this afternoon until I finished it. I could not put it down, in spite of the fact that it’s an emotionally difficult book to read. I was taken to a place I have no understanding of, not just at 17 Swann St., but I don’t know what it’s like to be anorexic and I’ve never personally known anyone who was. I was fully immersed into Anna Roux’s life. The narrative alternates between Anna’s present in the residential recovery program at 17 Swann St., to her past just before and then earlier when she meets and falls in love with her husband, to her childhood, then to the stark clinical description of her condition in her Treatment Plan notes, to her sessions with her psychiatrist and most poignant of all her thoughts.

Anna’s a ballet dancer, well she used to be. Em was a gymnast, well she used to be. Valerie, her first friend there was “an A student”, “an Ivy League grad”. This could happen to anyone. Friendships and bonds develop because they care about each other, understand each other and know the pain of putting the food in their mouths and swallowing it. Anna sees that other girls’ circumstances are the same as hers in many ways, but she’s lucky as one of the girls tells her, because she has someone to do this for, her husband Matthias who visits every evening at visiting hours when others have no one. I won’t rehash what happens at 17 Swann St. because I really recommend you find out for yourself. Just be prepared. It might make you cry like it did me, but I’m still glad that I read this. I couldn’t stop thinking throughout that Yara Zgheib must have known this disease in order to so realistically convey how horrible it is and to make me understand in a way I could not possibly have understood. Then I read this article, which is moving and heartfelt, and personal and it made this beautifully written book all the more meaningful. https://bookpage.com/behind-the-book/23648-from-diary-to-debut-fiction#.XGMq4RZOnYU

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

What triggers an eating disorder? In Anna Roux, a French ballerina, it seemed to be a causal comment about losing a few pounds from her dance master, a man she desperately wanted to please and thought she loved until she learned he was married to a lovely, and much thinner, young woman. After Anna injures herself, she cannot work out, but worse, perhaps her career as a dancer is over.

She is fortunate to meet the love of her life, a physicist, and together they move to St Louis so that he can accept a job promotion. But he has to work long hours and Anna is lonely--no job, no friends. The one thing she can control in her life is what goes into her body. Soon she is existing on apples and microwave popcorn alone and it becomes painfully obvious that she has a problem.

She agrees to be checked into a private clinic for girls with eating disorders. It is her last chance to regain a normal life with the man she loves. At 17 Swann Street, she meets several other young ladies with their own heartbreaking stories to tell. The eating schedule is programmed to help gain back the weight but the worst struggle is psychological.

This story was so well written. It's a fascinating inside look at how this and other eating disorders control the mind of the victim.

I received an arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review. I can highly recommend it.

I wasn't sure how this book would play out. A book about girls living together in treatment for anorexia and other eating disorders. It could have been depressing and hard to read, instead, I found a cast of characters that were tough yet supportive of each other. I kind of kept waiting for the other shoe to fall and the mean girls would come out, but instead it was a group of people all just trying to get through their days and overcome the huge metal challenges that eating disorders present.

At the beginning of the novel, Anna and her husband, Matthias, realize that she has gone too far in her disease and she must get help or she will die. So, Anna moves in to 17 Swann Street where she will get help for her eating disorder. She will be told what to eat and how much, there will be six meals a day and there are no excuses. There are ups and downs and it is never easy, but with the support of Matthias (and what an amazing man he is!) and the other people at Swann Street, there is a chance of recovery.

I am not sure how realistic this story is but it does present what I believe is a true to life look at the mind set of people living with anorexia and how hard it is to overcome those thoughts. My only ding on the book is that the author uses italics instead of quotation marks which I am never a fan of (why not just use the quotation marks???) but she also uses italics for flashbacks and at times it was hard to follow who was speaking or was it a flashback. Overall, thought, I would definitely recommend this book.

This is a powerful read about a woman named Anna who weighs 88 lbs when she checks in the Swann Street House along with others who have eating disorders too. I thought this would be a grim read but it made me keep reading until the end. It is a quiet absorbing page turner that shows the raw courage of people who find the strength to support those around them even though they are struggling themselves. This is my first book from Yara Zgheib but it definitely won't be the last! I recommend this book to others who want to read a nuanced novel about anorexia.

In the United States, at least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder. If this number does not shock you, you might still be surprised to learn that eating disorders, often incorrectly thought to only affect teens and young women, are also present in 13% of women over 50, and that many eating disorder patients are actually diagnosed in their early 20s.

In THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET, Yara Zgheib offers readers a heartbreaking and lyrical look at one such young woman, whose diagnosis and subsequent treatment for anorexia force her to confront her innermost thoughts and pain.

The story begins with 26-year-old Anna Roux entering a treatment facility located at 17 Swann Street. Beleaguered by depression, anxiety and her own toxic thoughts, Anna weighs a mere 88 pounds, but she is not the victim many readers will expect to find in this situation. She is happily married to the love of her life, has a passion and talent for dance, and is an eloquent thinker. As Anna enters 17 Swann Street, we watch as she is stripped of her possessions and her rights, and confronted with the truth of the matter: she must eat, attend therapy and break herself of her disordered thoughts, or be forced to face a feeding tube or, worse, death.

hrough a mixture of intake forms, meal plans, treatment notes, flashbacks to Anna’s life before her diagnosis, and her present-day interactions with the other seven girls at 17 Swann Street, Zgheib takes readers on a character-driven race through mental illness, treatment and healing. Early on, we see that the girls Anna is now living with are all dramatically different --- the anorexics are gaunt and sunken in, but the bulimics have the same puffy cheeks. The one glaring similarity among the girls, beyond their residence, is the adolescent anguish in their eyes. They are strung between their childlike bodies and their very adult pain, and the tension threatens to swallow them whole.

As Anna adapts to life at 17 Swann Street, enduring brutal therapy and feeding sessions along with painful yet hopeful visits from her husband, we learn all about her past --- her home, Paris; her dedication to her career as a professional ballet dancer; the ex-boyfriend who toyed with her self-esteem; her doting husband, Matthias; and finally, her injured leg that has prevented her from dancing. It would be easy to see how any of these elements (except, perhaps, Matthias) could combine with Anna’s own mental anguish to result in disordered eating, but Zgheib does not take the easy route, showing how the minute pains of Anna’s life are the ones that have hurt her the most, and how she finds control through her food intake. As Anna explains, “I do not suffer from anorexia. I have anorexia. The two states are not the same. I know my anorexia, I understand it better than the world around me.”

Because this novel is intensely character-driven, it would be a disservice not to discuss Zgheib’s careful, tender rendering of Anna. Although she is only 26, Anna explains that she feels 62, and though she is often in despair, she has a keen mind that seems to possess the wisdom of someone who has experienced far more than their share of life’s troubles. At the same time, she loves and is loved, yet it is clear that the love of her husband and father will not be enough to help her recover. As cheesy as it may sound, Anna truly must learn to love herself before she can begin to heal, but, unlike me, Zgheib relies on no clichéd phrases or plot tropes like this.

Through Anna’s sharp eyes, we meet the other girls, too, like sweet Valerie and bright yet tortured Emm. We learn not only their diagnoses, but also their complicated and distorted relationships with food, hidden anxieties, self-destructive impulses, need to be loved and so much more. Emm was a highlight of the book for me. Unlike the other girls, she has been at 17 Swann Street for four years and thus has the role of leader, despite her obvious struggles with the outside world. I cannot stress enough what a beautiful job Zgheib does in illuminating the girls’ differences while still reminding readers that people of all backgrounds can end up in the same place, with the same diagnosis. Even among the girls themselves, there is a strong sense of community --- despite their own sufferings, they all have privately vowed to “never leave anyone alone at the table.” At the same time, they remind Anna of all she has to lose outside, and why she is one of the luckier patients there. Their shared stories are deeply personal yet wonderfully universal, and Zgheib somehow manages both at once with an air that suggests she was born to write this book.

I cannot end this review without stating how painful it can be to read THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET. The scenes where the girls are forced to eat can be triggering, and there are several mentions of suicide, self-harm and other troubling topics. Even in Anna’s flashbacks, we are confronted with horrifying scenes, like Anna screaming and crying on a roller coaster because the wind feels like it is cutting through her paper-thin skin, and the force feels as though it may remove her arms from their sockets. Zgheib writes with a compassion and an intensity that may scare away some readers, but I believe that her brilliance and authenticity make this book a must-read.

Zgheib shows us how easy it can be for these disorders to sneak by for many years, only being diagnosed when they become nearly fatal, and how much each disorder takes from its victims and their loved ones. This is not a happy story, but it is a hopeful one, and perhaps the perfect book for anyone feeling alone, depressed or like they have truly lost control.

DNF: I was really looking forward to this book as I had seen great reviews from friends. I love books that focus on mental illness. And while it seemed intriguing I just couldn't get into the writer's style of voice. I was often lost on who was speaking and the lack of real distinction between past and present. It took me a few to realize the italics were the past. The transitioning and format was not the best. I maybe got 10% in and just couldn't go any further.

Since I read an ARC maybe these issues are fixed in the final copy, but for me that $15 price is really steep for the issues I had.

I really enjoyed reading this book, even if the anorexia aspect was not high level accurate.

It is a great low level book about a woman's struggle with the disease. She is a likable character and you root for her to win and get better. This book should be read by those who want a well-written story about a former dancer and her desire to conquer her disease so she can save her marriage (and her life). It should be passed by if you're looking for an accurate representation of the disease, its victims, or the recovery.

Let's be clear, anorexia is not cured by sitting women down at a dining table and telling them they have to consume 3000 calories in a day. Yet all these women sit calmly if tearfully and just eat. I'm not entirely convinced that anorexics and bulimics should be seated together at meals either. Eating disorders are really, really rough diseases. Much like an addiction, the afflicted become very deceitful and lie about everything. The disease does not allow them to be trusted. But none of this is shown in this story. Anna weighs only 88 lbs when she is admitted to this voluntary center which is more like a halfway house than a place equipped to give the medical attention needed for someone who has reached this stage of the disease. It is not normal for a patient to be admitted at 88 lbs, immediately begin eating, and then be "cured" in a matter of weeks. I also wish we had seen Anna's husband get needed counseling. Family members must fully understand what is going on and learn how to deal with their loved one so they can be more helpful with continued recovery at home.

So please don't read this book to get real information about eating disorders. Read it for the well-written characters, and the outline of how the disease can take hold. Read it for the interesting story.

I know I listed a lot of complaints here, and well, let's do one more: naming the main character Anna was like an anvil over the head and was unnecessarily obvious. But the writing is otherwise good, and I was sucked into the story. I felt for the characters, I rooted for them, and I didn't put the book down until I was finished. For all my complaints, the book deserves the 4 stars I'm giving it.

Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Heartwrenching, powerful, sad, hopeful......so many emotions happening during this quick read. If you've ever suffered from addiction, drugs, alcohol, food etc or known someone who has, you will feel their pain. You can feel the pain of Anna, Emm, Valerie, and all the girls of 17 Swann. You heart will break for papa, Matthias and Sophie. But you will cry and cheer for Anna and feel hopeful for recovery.

I was immediately drawn into this story about a young woman’s struggle to overcome anorexia nervosa. There were many emotional highs and lows throughout the story. My heart cried for the girls and their families and rejoiced in their progress.
The setting for the story is in a residential treatment center. The interactions between the residents of 17 Swann Street gave the reader the feeling of looking in on a secret society. The empathy and support they gave to each other was both heartwarming and sad.
The majority of the story is written using thought, flashbacks and conversation, making the story that much more interesting in the way it flows.
I highly recommend this book.
Thank you #Netgalley and #StMartinsPress for approving my request. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

As a woman who also struggles with weight/eating disorder, this story resonated with me in a scarily accurate way. It also broke my heart as a mother to think about my child dealing with these issues. Zgheib did a beautiful job conveying the heartbreak of self-struggles while showing how vital the support of others is when we are unable to support ourselves.

“How little of an eating disorder the naked eye can actually see.” Bravo to Zgheib’s courage in writing this difficult but necessary book, which you need to read. The self image issues that all young women (and men) face are front and center at Swann Street, and this will make you think about everything you’ve ever said to yourself or another regarding their bodies and self worth.
This is a hard one, especially for anyone who has or knows someone who has an eating disorder, however, it is a humane and personal glimpse into an utterly insane disease. Looking at the life of Anna, both before, leading into and at treatment, is an eye opener and a heart breaker. I was in physical and emotional pain while reading this, yet couldn’t put it down. The depth in which Zgheib digs into describing and explaining this disease is commendable, as not everyone understands just what goes on within the minds of those suffering. “Keep walking... no feeling is ever final...there are always signs for those who know to look for them...keep walking.” Thank you for your wise words and for Anna and the Girls at 17 Swann Street’s stories.

When I saw this book I really was intrigued at this eating disorder and how it would affect our character.

Sadly, I just was not into the book at all. It took me almost three weeks to finish it and that was really pushing it. I think because the plot was slow and not fast-paced. I can not imagine having an eating disorder and for those that do man, it seems like a battle. We are introduced to Anna who is married without children and finds herself being anorexic. Her husband wants her to be able to be healthy and he will do anything for her. She knows this but that anorexic voice in her head is stopping her from being fully happy. She knows she needs to eat but, food just doesn't do it for her. This is when she is introduced to the girls at 17 Swann Street. A place of rehab under very careful watch. I was impressed with how the caregivers were strict on making sure these girls/women ate the proper way so they could be healthy. This will be a battle for Anna and at the end, it is up to her if she can make it, yet with love and family behind her, she can do it right?

I think what threw me off a lot of the time through the book was the back and forth between what was going on right now to the past. I hope that others can read this book and know that they are not alone with their eating disorder and that there is help out there for them.