PRAISE FOR SICK ENOUGH

Sick Enough turns the lights on for anyone caught in the dark and frightening world of eating disorders - both those suffering and the loved ones and professionals hoping to help them. Drawing on years of experience treating all kinds of people with all kinds of eating disorders, Dr. Gaudiani doesn’t just give information, she inspires hope and paves a pathway to recovery. Bottom line - this book will save lives.

Margo Maine, PhD, FAED, CEDS
Eating disorders specialist and author

As an incredible resource for a wide range of medical problems encountered by those with eating disorders, this book provides an invaluable contribution to the field of eating disorders. Comprehensive in scope, it is written in language easily decipherable by patients, family members, and professionals from different disciplines. Dr. Gaudiani emphasizes that all individuals suffering from medical complications from eating disorders are sick enough to receive treatment and are deserving of recovery.

Anita Johnston, PhD
Author, Eating in the Light of the Moon

Dr. Gaudiani, a highly acclaimed internal medicine doctor who specializes in eating disorders, is a rare GEM!  Within Sick Enough she inspires all ED (eating disorder) sufferers to seek the treatment and care they deserve. Readers will walk away assured that full recovery for themselves, or loved ones, is possible. A must-read for all eating disorder treatment professionals desiring a glimpse into the renowned treatment philosophy and approach of Dr. Gaudiani. 

Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC
Founder/President of Eating Disorder Hope

If I or someone who I cared deeply about had an eating disorder, I would want to work with a physician who was competent, conscientious, caring, collaborative, courageous in advocating for patients, and coachable—humbly open to learning from research, patients, and herself. If you doubt such a physician exists, and, more important, if you are a person with an eating disorder, a family member, or a clinician who wants to learn a lot from a professional who integrates this level of expertise, character, and humility into a healing presence, then Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders is an invaluable resource. Not only does “Dr. G” provide detailed and comprehensible information about a host of ways in which eating disorders compromise the human body, including the brain, she also deftly situates both illness and recovery in the context of intersecting psychological, interpersonal, cultural, and soul-full (or empty) dimensions.

Michael P. Levine, PhD, FAED
Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Kenyon College

This year will be my 50th as an academician and clinician taking care of patients with eating disorders. I read the book with great interest, admiring the blend of narrative medicine and up-to-date science leading to competent therapeutic advice. The old dictum was “He who knows syphilis knows medicine.” It can now be replaced with “She who knows anorexia nervosa knows medicine.”  This book is a must-read for patients and their families…and they would do well in buying one book for their primary practitioner.

Tomas Jose Silber, MD, MASS
Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University
Medical Director, Donald Delaney Eating Disorders Program, Division of Adolescent Medicine

Get this book.  It will make you an expert.   Dr. Gaudiani is a superb physician with a healer’s touch. Covering the full spectrum of eating disorders in diverse populations with all diagnoses, this is a guide to understand their experience, medical complications and treatment.  Dispensing with the rumors, fads, and social biases that surround these disorders, she has created a resource that is easy to read and absorb.  Patents, families, and providers will all benefit tremendously from this book.

Mark Warren, MD, MPH, FAED
Chief Medical Officer, Emily Program

Dr. Gaudiani skillfully provides a comprehensive resource of the medical complications associated with the vast spectrum of eating disorders and enhances these findings with the “why” these medical problems occur.  The inspired depth of each chapter highlighted by illustrative case studies cultures the skills of care providers and takes a prolific leap to high quality informed treatment. 

Karen Beerbower, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, LD, F.iaedp
President, Nutritional Guidance, Inc.

Dr. G. shares her remarkable knowledge and style in a way that brings insight to a patient’s experience with an eating disorder, awareness of the body’s challenges and complications, and meaningful recommendations to patients, their families, and professionals. Sick Enough distinguishes itself as an essential read. Bravo to this comprehensive and timely volume.

Kathryn Cortese, LCSW, ACSW, CEDS
Editor-in-Chief, Gürze/Salucore

Sick Enough could not be written by a more qualified, nurturing eating disorder physician. Dr. G does not miss a beat in this must-have resource. She encompasses all facets of eating disorders from males, females, athletes, specific populations, those with diabetes mellitus and explains all physical complications that will evolve. This book has case studies to help tie the loose ends together. This is a needed resource for all.

Robyn L. Goldberg, RDN, CEDRD
Private Practice Nutrition Therapist   

With grace and wisdom Dr. Gaudiani guides us through the physical impact of eating disorders in the human body. Even if you’re familiar with the medical complications associated with eating disorders, reading this book will give you new perspective and understanding.

Asha Brown
Executive Director
We Are Diabetes

Sick Enough is a tremendous resource and a must-read for anyone in a position to influence the physical and emotional development of young men and women. Dr. Gaudiani’s unique perspective as an internist and eating disorder specialist allows her to provide indispensable information on prevention, awareness, recognition, and treatment of the full continuum of eating disorders.  A wealth of information and the best available go-to guide on DE (disordered eating) and ED (eating disorders).      

Caroline Silby, PhD
Sport psychology consultant to US Figure Skating and author of Games Girls Play:  Understanding and Guiding Young Female Athletes

Clear, informative, and personal. This book is a fantastic guide for all those affected by eating disorders. Dr. Gaudiani covers the essentials with brilliance and shines a light on issues influenced by current cultural and socio-political forces. A very timely contribution to the field.

Dr. Adele Lafrance, C.Psych
www.emotionfocusedfamilytherapy.org

Dr. Gaudiani communicates a basic love for this difficult work.  Although "Dr. G" is a ferociously erudite scholar, there is a remarkable absence of jargon.  The text is written in a lucid and intimate manner with both authenticity and humility. This inspired, compassionate book is a must-read for both the new and the seasoned provider.  It is also a gift of knowledge and insight for patients and their loved ones.

Tamara Pryor, PhD, FAED
Executive Clinical Director, EDCare

With this amazing book, Jennifer Gaudiani opens many hidden doors to understanding eating disorders. She explains medical complications, psychological realities, and treatment of eating disorders in a manner that experienced clinicians will appreciate and lay people will grasp. Dr. Gaudiani provides us with facts and language to use in reaching people of all gender identities, size, age and diagnoses.     

Therese S. Waterhous, PhD, RDN, CEDRD-S
Owner, Willamette Nutrition Source, LLC

I have been waiting for a book like this to be written for my entire career. Dr. Gaudiani has written a book that is easy to digest while also being incredibly informative. There are wonderful case examples which illuminate the substantial medical issues facing people with eating disorders. This book is a necessary addition to anyone treating people with eating disorders.

Beth Mayer, LICSW
Former Executive Director of Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA)

Dr. Gaudiani has created a work of great value that will not only educate families, motivate sufferers, and inform clinicians, but also her voice of love and human compassion, which all of us who know her deeply value, resonates throughout the book. Bravo, she has merged her unique depth of knowledge and experience with her huge heart and ability to compassionately communicate. I am grateful for this invaluable resource - it will be a must-have for all clinicians who treat eating disorders and a gift to all families and sufferers as they understand and embrace their unique recoveries.

Sondra Kronberg, MS, RD, CDN, CEDRD-S
Executive Director, Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative/FEED of NY
Founder and Spokesperson, National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)

A rigorous medical guide to treating eating disorders, artfully weaving in the sociopolitical underpinnings, and as compassionate as it is captivating, Sick Enough is essential reading for clinicians and families. This book will be a game changer in eating disorder treatment.

Linda Bacon, PhD, Author of Body Respect and Health at Every Size

In Sick Enough Jennifer Gaudiani’s voice is one of guide, mentor, trusted companion, and sage. She tackles a complex and too-often deadly illness and transforms it - through a holistic perspective, metaphorical language, and case studies – into a work worthy of breaking the secret code of eating disorders. Through compassion and respect, she is able to engage the authentic individual hiding beneath symptomology. This is not merely a book – it is a masterpiece.

Adrienne Ressler, LMSW, CEDS, F.iaedp                                                                                                                                                Vice President Professional Development, The Renfrew Center Foundation                             
Body Image Specialist       

Sick Enough is a beautifully written medical guide for living with or caring for someone with an eating disorder. Dr. Gaudiani shares her wisdom in a discussion that is complete and practical. Metaphors, scientific studies, and patient vignettes are offered as tools that will help those who are suffering to make sense of their experience.  Her voice emerges from a loving respect and commitment, crafting a framework for care that supports emotional growth and wellbeing. This will be a go to resource for clinicians, patients and families alike.

Kimberli McCallum, MD, CEDS, FAPA
Founder and Chief Medical Officer McCallum Place Treatment Centers
Associate Professor Clinical Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine         

Sick Enough is an incomparable contribution to a literature starving for an embracing, social justice-informed perspective on the medical management of those with eating disorders. Impeccably and accessibly composed, accentuated by case studies, metaphors and parables, this book validates patients’ diversity and lived experiences and comprehensively addresses the vagaries of medical complications associated with disordered eating. Dr. G’s passionate and effective capacity for sharing the depth and range of her clinical acumen ensures patients and professionals will equally benefit.

Beth Hartman McGilley, PhD, FAED, CEDS
Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice

Dr. Gaudiani weaves her knowledge, experience, skill, and care masterfully in this necessary book. She is one of those brilliant physicians who can present medically accurate information in an accessible way, and she provides us with meaningful information about bodies and eating disorders in a compassionate and ethical way. Written from a weight-inclusive lens, this book will be one I refer to often.

Carmen Cool, MA, LPC
Psychotherapist and educator

“Knowledge is POWER."  What might have been different if I had the power of knowledge when my daughter struggled with anorexia? I will never know but another mom who is desperately seeking knowledge to help her beloved child now has a resource written by Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani. Sick Enough provides a wealth of information that was specifically written to arm all those affected by eating disorders with the knowledge they need to fully recover.

Kitty Westin
Advocate

The good medical care of an eating disorder patient is a real art. In her book Sick Enough, Dr. Gaudiani’s easy-to-understand explanations, case vignettes, and her own clinical experience are treasures for the eating disorder literature. This is a book I highly recommend  for every single eating disorder specialist or any professional who takes care of eating disorders patients. I loved it! I give an enthusiastic standing ovation for this great addition to the literature of our field!

Eva Maria Trujillo Chi Vacuán, MD, FAED, CEDS, Fiaedp, FAAP
Past President, Academy for Eating Disorders
Medical Director and Founder of Comenzar de Nuevo, A.C.
Clinical Professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey School of Medicine

Finally a comprehensive guide that covers the whole spectrum and depth of eating disorders in a way that is both scientific and poetic. This book serves practitioners with its rigorously highlighted evidence-based care for all the medical complications and serves patients and families with Dr. Gaudiani’s innovative, “out of the box” use of unique metaphors. Lastly, Dr. Gaudiani’s humanity shines through in the pages of this book as she offers glimpses into her own life.

Margherita Mascolo, MD, CEDS
Chief Medical Officer
Alsana 

This is the book so many of us have been waiting for.

* The "I never learned about eating disorders in medical school" book

* The "what is happening to my body now that I am trying to recover" book

* The "I need to hear a doctor understand that doctors have been part of the problem for the health of higher weight people" book

* The "how can I make sure my loved one is getting good medical care for their eating disorder" book

* The "how do I make the case for a weight inclusive, HAES® approach with my treatment team" book

* The "get our professional team on the same page so we don't sabotage this person's treatment" book

* The "how do I lay out the reasons this is a medically necessary service for the insurance company" book

* Even the "we still don't know everything about eating disorders and weight-stigma-free treatment because there are so many people we have never asked" book that will, I hope, lead to more books!

Dr. Gaudiani just wrote the book so many of us have been waiting for: fascinating, clear, and amazingly readable. Love and respect for the magic of the doctor-patient relationship is center stage. Eating disorders are serious and often deadly illnesses that take advantage of our cultural myth that health can be read from body size. This is a map of how to pay attention to what matters, ignore the distractions, and keep the faith.

Deb Burgard, PhD, FAED
Co-founder, Health at Every Size®                 

Sick Enough is a gift to the eating disorders field, addressing a significant need in the literature. Dr. Gaudiani provides a comprehensive discussion of the medical/nutritional concerns across eating disorder diagnoses in a manner that is accurate, easily understood, and respectful while addressing the stigma individuals with eating disorders often face. Sick Enough is a must read for those with eating disorders, their families, all communities of support, as well as the professionals who care for these amazing individuals.

Leah L. Graves, RDN, LDN, CEDRD, FAED
Vice President of Nutrition and Culinary Services, Veritas Collaborative, LLC

The field has very much needed a book written for and including everyone that suffers from eating disorders. Dr. Gaudiani in print, as in life, delivers passion, grace, intelligence and hope to those who seek to understand the impact of these illnesses on the human body.  I unequivocally recommend this book to professionals and families alike.

Scott Moseman, MD, CEDS
Medical Director - Laureate Eating Disorders Program

Sick Enough provides individuals with eating disorders and their families with valuable insight into these serious illnesses in a way that all can understand. A resource for explaining such complicated issues in lay terms is long overdue. Our thanks to Dr. Gaudiani for this important contribution to our field.

Stacie McEntyre, MSW, LCSW, CEDS
Founder & CEO, Veritas Collaborative 

Dr. Gaudiani has written what will become the go-to resource on the medical complications of eating disorders. In her compassionate bedside manner, she demystifies these confusing disorders and distills into a single source everything that patients, families, and eating disorder providers will want to know. I’m excited to be able to reference and share her wisdom.

Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, FAED, CEDS-S
Psychologist at Eating Disorder Therapy LA and author, When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder: Practical Strategies to Help Your Teen Recover from Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating   

Dr. Gaudiani brings a wealth of expertise and compassion to a tough subject, as she eloquently describes many of the medical consequences of eating disorders in an understandable and relatable way. She includes clinical scenarios and helpful treatment pearls, delving into less well-known eating disorder complications in an effort to shine light on the complexity but manageability of various co-conditions. Sick Enough is a much-needed resource and should be required reading for patients, families, medical providers, and others who want to better understand and help those with eating disorders. Thank you, Dr. G!

Kate Ackerman, MD, MPH, FACSM
Medical Director- Female Athlete Program, Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard Medical School

This book will literally be a lifesaver. Dr. G brings her extensive training, inclusiveness and specific medical expertise to caregivers & clinicians to help them navigate the many medical challenges and emergencies for all eating disorders patients. I’m thrilled to share Sick Enough with families coaching with me to utilize as they advocate for their loved one’s health.

Becky Henry, CPCC, ACC
Founder and President
Hope Network, LLC, Eating Disorder Caregiver Support

Throughout her book, Sick Enough, Dr. Gaudiani provides many examples of how patients with eating disorders often do not feel “sick enough” to merit treatment, while also showing us that there are ways providers and loved ones can help dismantle this deadly and fixed belief. Dr. Gaudiani is gifted in her ability to use language that is non-pathologizing and inviting to the reader, while also clarifying the myriad of bodily changes, medical complications, and medical treatment interventions associated with EDs (eating disorders). Medical providers, as well as other professional, patients and families, will benefit from this easily-read text because it contains excellent case examples illustrating the medical challenges patients and loved ones face each day. Dr. Gaudiani skillfully arranged these case examples in a before/after sequence so readers can understand patient signs and symptoms before treatment, review information clarifying these signs and symptoms in each chapter, and then review medical interventions, and patient response to these interventions.

Dr. Gaudiani was creative in the way she laid out this book, starting with a discussion about the biological impact of starvation on the brain and the overall nature and impact of food restriction on the body and psyche. She then addresses the physiological and mental impact of purging, as well as the nature of several difficult to identify and treat medical problems that can accompany eating disorders. Next, she moves into a concise review of medical challenges, complications, and treatment related to eating disorders in special populations. This chapter emphasizes the diversity of individuals experiencing eating disorders and includes the challenges of treating patients who decline treatment.  Seeking to empower her readers, Dr. Gaudiani ends her book with how each of us can contribute to prevention and early identification of eating disorders.

I especially appreciated her decision to not include patients with larger bodies in the “special populations” section, but to devote an entire chapter solely to these patients before addressing special populations. The placement of this chapter validated and legitimized the challenges these patients face daily, dealing with loved ones and professional who may not understand that eating disorders do not selectively occur in only thin, white, rich, young females. The initial review of restriction and purging helped the reader in a fundamental and foundational way to understand that eating disorders can occur in people of all sizes and shapes. Throughout the text, Dr. Gaudiani exposes and debunks for readers the many myths associated with eating disorders. She shows how these myths fuel the patient experience of not being sick enough for care.

Dr. Gaudiani also brought a down-to earth and practical tone to her writing by discussing some of the easily-understood metaphors, analogies, and parables she shares with her patients. These literary devices illustrate the key messages she shares with patients and families about the bodily changes and medical complications that accompany eating disorders. They assist the reader to quickly grasp in a holistic way, physical and mental changes that can be challenging to convey and/or comprehend. It is clear in her description of these metaphors, analogies and parables, that the way in which she shares them, is equally, if not more important, than their content.  Most importantly, Sick Enough conveys that our attempts to engage patients in medical treatment will fall short unless they are executed within a framework of compassion, appreciation for patient and family member lived experience, AND knowledge about eating disorders.

Mary Tantillo, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAED, CGP
Professor of Clinical Nursing, University of Rochester

Sick Enough is an incredibly powerful resource that I cannot wait to utilize and to recommend to clients, colleagues, and families, alike.  Dr. Gaudiani has written an exceptionally comprehensive, Health at Every Size®-informed, guide to the medical complications of eating disorders.  This book fills a critical resource gap in the treatment of these complex conditions and does so in a way that is relatable, compassionate and hugely thoughtful.

Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S
National Director of Nutrition Services, Monte Nido
Owner/Operator, Whole Life Nutrition Counseling

Sick Enough should be required reading for everyone who has an eating disorder, or loves or cares for someone who does. Dr. Gaudiani distills complex medical happenings into simple terms, empowering individuals and families to take an active role in their care.  She also dispels the harmful myth that weight is a proxy for health, ensuring that full and sustained recovery is accessible to everyone with an eating disorder.

Kristina Saffran
Cofounder and CEO, Project HEAL

Dr. Gaudiani is masterful in her ability to take complex medical topics and make them accessible and understandable. I would highly recommend Sick Enough for patients, families and anyone who works with eating disorder patients.

Lesley Williams, MD, CEDS
CEO, Co-Founder, Liberation Center

Dr. Gaudiani knocked it out of the park with this book. If you suffer from disordered eating or an eating disorder, make sure your general practitioner or your internal medicine doctor reads this book. The good doc is making proper treatment available to ALL. Too bad this is not a mandatory read in med school. THANK YOU, THANK YOU DR. G! I don’t know if you realize the full power of your creation.                           

Krista Sturgeon     
LGBTQ+ Eating Disorders Recovery Advocate and Author   
Founder of Mira Alto Foundation, Inc.