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Zusatztext I was impressed by Lelwica's disclosure of her own experience of bulminia as a young woman ... To my mind, this goes much farther than simply sharing experience. Given the level of stigma associated with eating problems and mental illness, it is a powerful statement of solidarity and reflects her view of the political dimensions of spirituality. Michelle M. Lelwica grew up in rural Minnesota and earned her Doctorate of Theology at Harvard Divinity School. She is currently Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at St. Mary's College of California. Klappentext In recent years! eating disorders among American girls and women have become a subject of national concern. Conventional explanations of eating problems are usually framed in the language of psychology! medicine! feminism! or sociology. Although they differ in theory and approach! theseinterpretations are linked by one common assumption--that female preoccupation with food and body is an essentially secular phenomenon. In Starving for Salvation! Michelle Lelwica challenges traditional theories by introducing and exploring the spiritual dimensions of anorexia! bulimia! and related problems. Drawing on a range of sources that include previously published interviews with sufferers of eating disorders! Lelwica claimsthat girls and women starve! binge! and purge their bodies as a means of coping with the pain and injustice of their daily lives. She provides an incisive analysis of contemporary American culture! arguing that our dominant social values and religious legacies produce feelings of emptiness anddissatisfaction in girls and women. Trapped in a society that ignores and denies their spiritual needs! girls and women construct a network of symbols! beliefs! and rituals around food and their bodies. Lelwica draws a parallel between the patriarchal legacy of Christianity! which associates women with sin and bodily cravings! and thecultural preference for a thin female body. According to Lelwica! these complimentary forces form a popular salvation myth that encourages girls and women to fixate on their bodies and engage in disordered eating patterns. While this myth provides a sense of meaning and purpose in the face ofuncertainty and injustice! Lelwicademonstrates that such rigid and unhealthy devotion to the body only deepens the spiritual void that women long to fill. Although Lelwica presents many disturbing facts about the origins of eating disorders! she also suggests positive ways that our society can nourish the crea Zusammenfassung Presently, doctors and psychiatrists are professing their inability to develop theoretical approaches that lead to effective clinical methods to help women suffering from eating disorders. Michelle Lelwica puts forward a hypothesis that has both theoritical and clinical implications. She identifies eating disorders as a specifically religious problem and contends that it can be addressed with religious resources. She argues that the remnants of religious legacies that have historically effaced the diversity and complexity of women's spiritual yearnings and struggles are alive and well under the guise of a host of "secular" practices, pictures and promises. Until these legacies are recognized, contested, and changed, she predicts, many girls and women will continue to turn to the symbolic and ritual resources most readily available to them --- food and their bodies --- in a passionate but precarious quest for freedom and fulfilment....
