Wow. What an absolutely powerful series of essays Clein has provided... I was drawn in by the strength of her pros and the passion with which she presented it, and thoroughly enjoyed the mix of anecdote, evidence, and narrative that pulled together into such a moving and coherent whole. As the mother of a 10 year old daughter and stepmother of a 24 year old, I was fascinated and horrified and motivated by what I read here. It amazes me that we continue to live in a world that purports to deify but actually vilifies women's bodies and that girls and women continue to torture themselves, sometimes to death, in an attempt to balance these facts. This was a really powerful collection...

The most interesting part of this entire book on disordered eating is that a lot of the source material is so recent. I feel that a lot of popular books on eating disorders were written so long ago that a lot of them are outdated. In Dead Weight, social media is addressed frequently as it should with how much it can contribute to our reflections on body image.

The contents of this book are vital reading for anyone who wants a greater understanding of the way our culture actively encourages and supports disordered eating, but I would caution anyone in tenuous recovery about reading this book. Triggers abound. That being said, it is indeed vital reading. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

This wasn’t easy to read and a bit more in depth than I thought it would be. I didn’t get the connecting to individuals stories like I thought I would. I couldn’t relate much to what the author wrote. It was well researched despite this. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Dead Weight is a collection of essays on eating disorders. There are several interesting essays covering topics such as race and sexuality in eating disorder demographics. In the introduction, the author writes that this a book for those suffering from eating disorders that did not include triggering details. I disagree with this description and found this book to be one of the more triggering books on this topic that I have read. So, while I would recommend this book to an academic studying eating disorders and sociological trends, I would strong advise against those who are in recovery reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.