Book Review: Finding Lady Enderly

If you had the opportunity to improve your life and all you had to do was pretend to be someone else, would you do it? The book, Finding Lady Enderly, written by Joanna Davidson Politano, asks this question of both the heroine and readers.

Book Review: The Welsh Fasting Girl

In the mid- to late-1800s, a phenomenon known as “fasting girls” were documented in the Americas and Europe. These young girls, usually preteens, claimed that they could survive for long periods of time without eating.

During the Middle Ages, some saints were said to have been able to survive without nourishment. Because of this precedence, many of the Victorian-age faithful regarded these fasting girls as miraculous and saw this self-starvation as a sign of sanctity. As a result, these young girls became spectacles, put on display, often for a price and always at a cost.

Thankfully, the fascination with fasting girls faded. Doctors eventually determined that these girls had suffered from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder where food intake is restricted as a way to cope with negative emotions.

Book Review: The Broken Branches

The ice was…heavy, many branches…swept the ground in despair. Others broke underneath the tremendous weight… I look at these trees like people. …Some take [hardship] in stride, bear up, and continue to grow… Others fracture… When I found out the truth about my family…I prayed I wouldn’t shatter into a thousand pieces.