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Recovering from an eating disorder can be a long, hard process. After years of living with orthorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder, I’ve prioritized re-learning how to love and celebrate my body. Some days are easier than others, but prioritizing your mental and physical wellbeing is always 100% worth it.

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, you don’t have to do it alone. I wouldn’t have been able to start my journey to recovery without support from my friends, family, and the countless resources I found on the way. I love to read, so finding books that reflected my experiences and helped me overcome my fears was an essential step on my road to recovery.

Here are 5 of my favorite books about eating disorders and eating disorder recovery.

What Goes Down: The End of an Eating Disorder by Callie Bowld

This book outlines one woman’s experiences of living with, and recovering from, anorexia and bulimia. If you’re struggling with an eating disorder but have a hard time sharing your experiences with friends and daily, this book allows you to feel understood. All of the thoughts and actions that Bowld shares are so relatable, and they’re an easy way for other people in your life to relate to your experience. This book talks about the experiences of living with an eating disorder, starting recovery, and healing. And it’s funny in a dark and relatable way, which I think is a bonus!

Brain Over Binge: Why I Was Bulimic, Why Conventional Therapy Didn’t Work, and How I Recovered for Good by Kathryn Hansen

This book provides a moving first-hand account of living with bulimia and binge-eating disorder. Eating disorders can really uproot your life, and Hansen gives the reader a really personal look into the living with this illness. She walks through her experiences with therapy and eating disorder treatments, and dives into the science behind recovery. She emphasizes that since our life experiences, brain functioning, and social contexts are all different, we need to approach recovery in different ways. If you’re living with bulimia, she makes you feel like you’re not alone. This book can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel and approach recovery a little differently.

Befriending Your Body: A Self-Compassionate Approach to Freeing Yourself from Disordered Eating by Ann Saffi Biasetti

I love this book because literally ANYONE can benefit from reading it. Biasetti argues that society has taught us to completely disregard our minds and our bodies – so if we work to connect them through activities like yoga, journaling, and meditation it becomes easier to practice self-love. Whether or not you struggle with eating disorders, if you get caught up in cycles of self-criticism and toxic thoughts, this book gives you tactics that help you work through those negative behaviors.

The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy by Caroline Dooner

First of all – if you don’t follow the @thefuckitdiet on Instagram, go do it now! The F*ck It Diet brings a realistic, hilarious perspective on diet culture. This book is one of my all-time faves because Dooner walks you through tangible steps on how to heal your relationship with food. Society tells us that diets should work – but our bodies aren’t made for fad diets. Surprise! We should eat foods that satisfy us and taste good. If you want to learn more about spotting and calling out toxic diet culture, this book is for you.

Nourish: How to Heal Your Relationship with Food, Body and Self by Heidi Schauster

If you’re just starting out on your eating disorder recovery journey, I recommend this book as a first step. If you have the resources to seek professional help, please do that first. But I totally understand that finding a therapist or licensed professional can be expensive and time-consuming. If you want to start your recovery journey, this book is a great way to start. Schauster provides a simple 10-step process that you can walkthrough. I think this is very helpful for those who want tangible steps to follow. This book helped me understand how to eat mindfully and find ways to keep my body truly healthy.

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, I truly hope that you can find the resources you need to start your recovery. I think these books are a great place to start.

For more information and support, I encourage you to contact the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237.