Holy Hunger - by Margaret Bullitt-Jonas (Paperback)

About the Book

In an honest, eloquent memoir, Episcopal priest Margaret Bullitt-Jonas describes a childhood darkened by the repressive shadows of her alcoholic father and her emotionally reclusive mother, whose demands for excellence, poise, and self-control drove their daughter to develop an incredible addiction to food.

Book Synopsis

A wrenchingly honest, eloquent memoir "about true nourishment that comes not from [eating] but from engaging on a spiritual path."--Los Angeles Times

In this brave and perceptive account of compulsion and the healing process, Bullitt-Jonas describes a childhood darkened by the repressive shadows of her alcoholic father and her emotionally reclusive mother, whose demands for excellence, poise, and self-control drove Bullitt-Jonas to develop an insatiable hunger.

What began with pilfering extra slices of bread at her parents' dinner table turned into binges with cream pies and pancakes, sometimes gaining as much as eleven pounds in four days. When the family urged her father into treatment, the author recognized her own addiction and embarked on the path to recovery by discovering the spiritual hunger beneath her craving for food.

From the Back Cover

The dutiful daughter of an esteemed Harvard professor and a pious Radcliffe trustee, Margaret Bullitt-Jonas seemed groomed for success. But while she was a superachiever in her academic life, the author was eating herself to death.

In this wrenchingly honest, eloquent memoir, Bullitt-Jonas describes a childhood darkened by the repressive shadows of her alcoholic father and her emotionally reclusive mother, whose demands for excellence, poise, and self-control drove Bullitt-Jonas to develop an insatiable hunger. What began with pilfering extra slices of bread at her parents' dinner table turned into binges with cream pies and pancakes, sometimes causing her to gain as much as eleven pounds in four days. When the family urged her father into treatment, the author recognized her own addiction and embarked on the path to recovery by discovering the spiritual hunger beneath her craving for food. Holy Hunger is a brave and perceptive account of compulsion and the healing process.

Review Quotes

"A refreshing change from the stale blame game of so many memoirs.... [Holy Hunger] offers an example of self-examination that is indeed insightful and instructive."--The New York Times Book Review

"A thought-provoking account of the role of faith in healing."--Jill Ker Conway, author of True North

About the Author

MARGARET BULLITT-JONAS is an Episcopal Priest and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.