Nourishment
"By the time I was eleven years old, I’d already been on fifteen medications, seen ten doctors, been diagnosed with six disorders, and gone to five schools. . . . Through the nineteen years I’ve been alive, more of my time has probably been spent in doctor’s offices, treatment centers, and hospitals than with friends. After coming home from my first treatment center at the age of fifteen, I decided the time had come for me to try and make sense of everything." By Melissa Binstock
About the Book
A raw, honest, first-person account of living (and deteriorating) with multiple psychiatric, psychological, and physical disorders by an articulate young woman who shines a spotlight on disordered thinking.
Endorsements
While there are numerous books written by young adults who struggled with anorexia, Tourette's syndrome, anxiety, dyslexia, or ADHD, this is the first memoir to document the struggle from the point of view of a young woman who was diagnosed with all of them.
The author wrote this book as part of her effort to get well and as a way to understand what happened to her. Her brutal honesty in writing about her painful childhood, which included being institutionalized, has served as her central form of nourishment. She is now an honors student and psychology major.
“This extraordinarily well-written autobiography should be a ‘must’ reading for all affected by Tourette and obsessive compulsive disorder as well as those involved in the care of such patients and involved in research into neurobehavioral disorders. –Joseph Jankovic, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine
“Melissa writes with such passion that it was difficult putting this book down. I found myself moved by her ability to continue on despite all the set-backs and complications. This book truly inspired me and was at the same time a spiritual experience.” –Ira M. Sacker, M.D., Eating Disorders Specialist and Author of Regaining Your Self and Dying to Be Thin
“I found her story so compelling that I used it in my course on pathography in a doctoral seminar.” –Dr. Marla Morris, Associate Professor of Education at Georgia Southern University
“. . . (Nourishment) had some elements of my own life, which both terrified me and gave me hope.” –Cindy Sacks, Executive Assistant for the Tourette Syndrome Association of Texas
“This world needs more real, authentic heroes. Melissa Binstock is one. In Nourishment, she shows all of us—regardless of our particular struggles in life—that hurdles are meant for overcoming and freedom can be chosen in each moment.” –Jenni Schaefer, Author of Goodbye Ed, Hello Me and Life Without Ed
“Unlike some other books on eating disorders, Nourishment really touched my heart.” –Tiffany Salinas, Student
“Melissa Binstock takes us on a voyeuristic journey . . . This is a gripping ride . . . You will be inspired, changed, humbled, and all the wiser as you, too, come to realize that perfection isn’t measured by caloric nourishment but by loving and being loved.” –Elizabeth S. Dybell, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist
Where to find your copy.
Social Links
Gold Key Award
An abridged version of Nourishment was given the Gold Key Award by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers in 2005.
Featured
Has been featured in articles in The Houston Chronicle, The Bellaire Buzz, The Tanglewood Buzz, and The Jewish Herald Voice, and interviewed on the Dan Patrick Show.
Psychopathology
Nourishment is the first memoir about disordered thinking to be used as a textbook for a psychopathology class (at Georgia Southern University).