Paperweight audiobook

I have written and rewritten this sentence five times. As an eating disorder survivor and as an aspiring psychologist, I should have all the words to talk about Paperweight, a novel about a seventeen-year-old girl living in an inpatient eating disorder facility. But even after six hours away from the story, I still find myself tearing up just thinking about it. Paperweight acts as a searing account of mental illness and the strength it takes to embark on recovery.In twenty-seven days, Stevie will kill herself. She tells herself that because twenty-seven days will mark the anniversary of her brother's death, the death she caused with her own bare hands. At the moment Stevie finds herself stuck in an eating disorder treatment center near the desert of New Mexico. In order to make her ultimate plan of escape come true, she will do her best to ignore the food at mealtimes, the therapists that surround her, and the other sick, wilting girls. Stevie's determination to die drives her, and she fights for it to push her past the point of ever going back.Paperweight grabbed me from page one. If you want a young-adult novel that tackles mental illness head-on, you have found it: from her own experiences, her research, and her career, Meg Haston describes the brutal reality of inpatient ED treatment with honesty and specificity. Every detail of this book and Stevie's development resounded within me. From the way she clutched her ribs on page eleven to the way she closed her eyes to escape her emotions on page two hundred and ten, every emotion and action Stevie felt or took came across as authentic.Haston also delves into the complexity of eating disorders with aplomb. One important lesson to learn right now: eating disorders are about so much more than food. Haston reveals Stevie's saddening family history, her past toxic relationship, and the trauma she experienced to show the amalgamation of factors that comprise her disease. She highlights the harshness of eating disorders, spanning the way they distort reality, to how they create such devastating physical and mental harm, to the way they manifest as a way to control emotions that feel like explosions, like earthquakes. I find it silly that people would criticize Stevie's "unlikability" - fighting a mental illness is really freaking hard, not an easy walk in the park you can always do with a smile. And Stevie's voice is so, so real, imperfections and all.My favorite part of Paperweight centers on its relationships, without a doubt. Stevie has a multifaceted family dynamic that influences a good amount of her mentality. She also forms a slow-burning, vulnerable, and wonderful friendship with Ashley, her roommate who she refused to acknowledge of at first. But more than that, I loved her therapeutic relationship with Anna with all of my heart. Haston describes their bond so well. She avoids trivializing or idolizing Anna's character; rather, she portrays her as a professional with emotions, someone trained to guide Stevie and walk alongside her on her path to recovery.This novel slayed me in the best possible way. I cried all throughout the second half. Perhaps not everyone will enjoy this book; they may not connect all the way with Stevie, or they may find certain areas of her past too convenient. But Paperweight spoke to me in a way that very few books have. While I would hesitate to give it to someone will struggling with an eating disorder, I would 100% recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary young-adult novels, learning about and empathizing with those who face mental illness, and complex intrapersonal dynamics. Paperweight reminded me that recovery is a choice you make every single day, and that feeling life's weight means that you are, indeed, alive. For that message, I am thankful.

THIS BOOK WAS FANTASTIC. I absolutely loved Paperweight by Meg Haston.As someone who's suffered from anorexia since they were eleven, I only just realized that I had yet to read a fiction novel about eating disorders, and Paperweight did not disappoint. I'm amazed at how much of an accurate representation of eating disorders this book was.I realized so much about my own illness while reading which was a blessing in itself. One of the most powerful thing about literature is being able to analyze your own experiences and perceive them in a new way due to someone else's words. I thought I knew my story backwards and forwards by now, but I'm so grateful I found comfort, understanding, and revalation in this book that I didn't realize I needed.I sincerely appreciate the raw, graphic and honest nature of this book. The accuracy of it's depiction is rooted in the fact that Meg Haston isn't afraid to describe the disorder the way it is; enraging, exhausting, and something you feel desperate to cling on to no matter how destructive the consequences may be. That being said, I do want to put a *trigger warning* on this book. Maybe it's because this is the first novel I've read about eating disorders; I've read so many books on depression that I feel I've become really desensitized to it's triggering nature of in YA fiction, but because I haven't read many books on eating disorders, I just may not be used to reading about it. I've been in recovery on-and-off for about 6 years now, and I think this new exposure to old thoughts might have caught me off guard at first. So if you're looking to pick up this book, please be aware of the graphic content of the story, but I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to experiment more with novels dealing with mental illness. So thankful I finally got around to picking this gem up, and even happier that it exceeded all of my expectations and blew me away.I received a free copy of this book from Harper Teen. I had no obligation to review this book and all opinions are my own.

4 stars I feel really depressed after finishing this... not the ending per se, but the entire story. Some parts just hit a little too close. I struggled with the MC. I wasn't sure if I liked her most of the book, but there were some fantastic side characters (Ashely I adored, Josh was great). The book had a lot of flashbacks, which normally I don't love, but I feel like they were important here. This is a powerful read, but it's also very heavy. Saying I enjoyed it doesn't seem like the right term, but overall it was a good read that impacted me.

This was an extremely well done story.

Desde que lo vi en la librería me cautivó por su trama y cuando al fin pudo tenerlo en mis manos descubrí que no me había equivocado, una historia bien hecha que nos muestra algo vaga algunas veces, la manera de vivir y de adaptarse al cambio, y la transformación interna que conlleva el salir adelante de un trastorno alimenticio. donde junto a la protagonista descubriremos que lo más complicado no es la enfermedad, sino las razones que la llevaron a ella.

I believe this was my first experience of a character with an eating disorder, and I admit it's not a subject that I've ever really given a huge amount of thought to, given that it's never been a part of my own life or the people in it. I don't think I really appreciated the impact of other factors other than the actual food or appearance issues on a person's ED. This was an eye opener, and it was done poignantly and authentically.This is a well written, emotionally charged account of a girl struggling with not just her ED, but also grief, guilt and abandonment. The fact that the basis for the story was formed by the author's own experience as both a survivor and therapist is evident. The relationships - both the strong and the toxic - are wonderfully formed so that every single character felt real, and I had real feelings for them.

Warning: I’d advise any readers with an eating disorder, or those easily influenced, to avoid this book as it may trigger unhealthy behaviorThat being said, Paperweight was…cruel. There’s not much to say beyond that it was a heartbreakingly blunt story about a girl who showed her strength by starving herself to death and that I wanted to cry throughout the entire story. The words of Stevie are shockingly poignant and they cut deep–her contempt, her disgust, and her desperation jumped out from the page and just seemed to slither into me. The way that Haston weaves her words together is almost frightening in how truthful they sound and how much they can impact a reader.The way that Haston approaches eating disorders is interesting and irrevocably emotional. Thinking that there are girls who feel the way that Stevie does (that bulimia is week? That anorexia is strength?) hurts and frankly, I have the urge to both slap sense into them then hug them and wrap them in a blanket. (Or, at least, that’s how it felt with Stevie.)One of my favorite things about this story is probably going to be the story itself. Stevie starts the novel out as a contemptuous person, a bit selfish, a bit lonely, and a bit oblivious-to-the-world and throughout the entire story, something starts to shift in her. It’s almost imperceptible and I only really comprehended it in the very last bit of the book. She starts giving in ever so slightly, starts becoming closer to the other girls in her cottage, starts complying with her treatment team’s request. I kind of loved that–the slow shift and the sudden realization. (That’s kind of where the tears started.)And, just to acknowledge the history of Stevie and all the Reasons Why: It’s really freaking brutal. I honestly ached for Joshua and I sometimes wanted to shake Stevie for acting the way she did. As for Eden? I’d rather not even talk about Eden.Paperweight is insane, but that’s just how the world works. Haston’s portrayal of eating disorders is an emotional one that doesn’t flinch away then focus on something flimsy like a romance. It takes the subject head on and gives us a story worth tears and worth the heartache.P.S: Kudos to Haston for giving the therapist a monuemental role in the story. In YA therapists are often the bad guy or the ones who “don’t understand” and act essentially like robots. It’s refreshing to find a therapist character who helps more than harms and has her own flaws as a character.

Wow, this really took me by surprise. It was so much more poignant and emotional than I expected it to be. If you're on the fence about reading this, I would definitely say to pick it up.

Hablemos de libros sobre problemas alimenticios bien escritos, cuidados y que no utilizan una enfermedad como una simple excusa para hacer un libro que vende.

Heavy and emotional... Not what I was expecting given the cute cover. I thought the author did a fantastic job conveying the struggles and triumphs associated with recovery and therapy for eating disorders. Although it was a bit heavy, I think this is one of the best YA books I've read regarding these topics because too often it feels like YA books just don't explore serious and difficult topics as deeply as they could or should.

4 - 4.5(?)Me sorprendió lo mucho que me gustó este libro. Toca temas algo sensibles, que pueden llegar a afectar si estas en una etapa difícil. Siento que la autora hizo un buen trabajo en representación. Me encantaron todos los personajes, hizo un trabajo excelente con los personajes secundarios.Algo que si debo decir que siento que todo pasa muy rápido.

2/3 of the way through I was certain that this book would be nothing more than a 3 star book for me, but I’m so happy to admit that I was wrong. In my opinion this book perfectly portrayed the Eating Disorders mentioned in it. I’ve dealt with many eating disorders in my life and I was shocked at how much I could relate to Stevie. Great read, but as always, be aware of the many trigger warnings this book has!