All That Fills Us - by Autumn Lytle (Paperback)

About the Book

In a last-ditch effort to make something of herself, an anorexic woman sets out on foot in a cross-country pilgrimage. As she faces the forces of nature and battles her inner demons, she'll come face-to-face with her disorder along the journey to healing, acceptance, and fulfillment.

Book Synopsis

Mel Ellis knows that her eating disorder is ruining her life. Everyone tells her rehab is her best option, but she can't bring herself to go. Broken and empty in more ways than one, Mel makes one last-ditch effort to make hers a story worth telling. She will walk her own road to recovery along the lesser-known trails of the North American wilderness.

Though she is physically and mentally unprepared to face the difficulties that lay ahead, she sets off on foot from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and heads toward Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. During the long journey, she meets strangers with their own stories, as well as ghosts from her past who can no longer be ignored. But though the land she travels threatens her success at every turn, it's her own dark thoughts she'll have to overcome in order to find peace in the life and the body she has been given.

With pitch-perfect timing and delightfully witty self-awareness, debut author Autumn Lytle masterfully leads readers on a journey down the hard path toward healing.

***

"All That Fills Us is a compelling drama of the complex battle with the debilitating longing for perfection as enacted through a severe eating disorder. Told in an equally raw and wry first-person narration, this tale bears powerful witness to how the individual's quest for wellness is necessary groundwork for collective healing."--Booklist

"Lytle draws on her own experience with eating disorders to take readers inside Mel's mind and misguided thinking about her own worth and health."--Library Journal

From the Back Cover

The journey toward healing starts with a single brave step--but it is never walked alone

Mel Ellis knows that her eating disorder is ruining her life. Everyone tells her rehab is her best option, but she can't bring herself to go. Broke, broken, and empty in more ways than one, Mel launches one last-ditch effort to make hers a story worth telling. She will walk her own road to recovery along the lesser-known trails of the North American wilderness.

Though she is physically and mentally unprepared to face the difficulties that lay ahead, she sets off on foot from Michigan. Her goal? Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. During the long journey, she meets strangers with their own stories, as well as ghosts from her past who can no longer be ignored. But though the land she travels threatens her success at every turn, it's her own dark thoughts she'll have to overcome in order to find peace in the life and the body she has been given.


"Brave and compelling. Mel's journey toward revelation and hope is an invitation for us to see ourselves as God sees us and to discover--or rediscover--why our stories matter."--Sharon Garlough Brown, author of Shades of Light and the Sensible Shoes series

"With humor and compassion, intricate insights, and singular descriptions, Autumn Lytle has captured the pain of encroaching mental illness. May there be many more healing stories from this truly gifted author."--Jane Kirkpatrick, bestselling author of The Healing of Natalie Curtis

About the Author

Autumn Lytle identifies with a strange group of humans who enjoy running long distances and writing even longer books. Along with being a forever-recovering anorexic and exercise addict, she is a weirdly good checkers player and finder of four-leaf clovers. She spends her days thinking up stories and trying to figure out this whole parenting thing with her son. She can often be found out exploring her hometown of Seattle, Washington, with her family in tow. Learn more at www.autumnlytle.com.