The Thin Woman

The Thin Woman is a combination of poems, song lyrics, photos, and journal entries illustrating a woman's constant and courageous struggle with her lifelong eating disorder.

The Thin Woman tells the moving story of M's daily fight to overcome her lifelong eating disorder. The poems and song lyrics, written by her sister, attempt to capture the Thin Woman's reality and the devastating pain it's caused both herself and her family. The poems are coupled with black and white photographs of the Thin Woman to further illustrate the disease. Throughout the book, readers are taken on an emotional journey as they read the Thin Woman's letters to Bob (the name she's given to her eating disorder). Within these letters, the Thin Woman thanks Bob for being her dearest friend. Together they share the triumphs as she loses weight to keep herself small and safe; they battle as the Thin Woman realizes what Bob has cost her and she fights to rid herself of his control.

Michelle Howard is a poet and recently retired second grade teacher who enjoyed guiding young writers to appreciate their poetic potential. The Thin Woman is her first self-published work. This book combines her love of poetry, her recently found song writing abilities, and her deep desire to illuminate the courageous struggles of living with an eating disorder.