Starving for Salvation

"Lelwica's provocative book offers multiple rewards....Her inventive expressions, such as `culture lite' and the `politics of distraction,' help diagnose the false promises of fulfillment offered by consumer culture....Chapters addressing the popular icons and rituals of womanhood, tied to the myth that thinness reaps salvation, are especially lucid....[Lelwica deals] sensitively with the personal stories of girls and women struggling with eating problems....Her analysis of the permeable boundaries between religion and culture is incisive and valuable."--Christian Century "A probing and intelligent explanation of dieting and weight obsession that points to religiosity, morality, and absolution from guilt as the primary agents motivating women's irrational quest for thinness."--Choice "Lelwica's thesis that eating disorders both mask and reveal deep spiritual hungers, which she defines broadly as hungers for meaning and value, is extraordinarily well researched and clearly, cogently, and persuasively argued. Her analysis and critique make for powerful reading, and she follows up with an equally strong constructive program in conclusion. In my estimation she makes a major advance in understanding eating disorders, as well as an important contribution to more general cultural critique, viewed through the lens of eating disorders." --Paula Cooey, Trinity University "[Starving for Salvation] is interesting, thoroughly researched, and well written....Lelwicas work is [part of] the next generation of efforts to address a complex and perplexing problem, and it makes a suggestion that has both theoretical and clinical implications." --Margaret R. Miles, Dean, Graduate Theological Union "This is a through and creative book. Lewica engages critically with a number of different disciplines, and raises questions which reflect concerns in the wider field of mental health and social justice, in America, the UK and Australia...a rich resource for a wide range of interested groups, not only those concerned with eating disorders...a complex, challenging and rewarding book." Religion and Theology "An important contribution to the theological discussion of eating disorders."-- The Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Lelwica's provocative book offers multiple rewards....Her inventive expressions, such as `culture lite' and the `politics of distraction,' help diagnose the false promises of fulfillment offered by consumer culture....Chapters addressing the popular icons and rituals of womanhood, tied to the myth that thinness reaps salvation, are especially lucid....[Lelwica deals] sensitively with the personal stories of girls and women struggling with eating problems....Her analysis of the permeable boundaries between religion and culture is incisive and valuable."--Christian Century "A probing and intelligent explanation of dieting and weight obsession that points to religiosity, morality, and absolution from guilt as the primary agents motivating women's irrational quest for thinness."--Choice "Lelwica's thesis that eating disorders both mask and reveal deep spiritual hungers, which she defines broadly as hungers for meaning and value, is extraordinarily well researched and clearly, cogently, and persuasively argued. Her analysis and critique make for powerful reading, and she follows up with an equally strong constructive program in conclusion. In my estimation she makes a major advance in understanding eating disorders, as well as an important contribution to more general cultural critique, viewed through the lens of eating disorders." --Paula Cooey, Trinity University "[Starving for Salvation] is interesting, thoroughly researched, and well written....Lelwicas work is [part of] the next generation of efforts to address a complex and perplexing problem, and it makes a suggestion that has both theoretical and clinical implications." --Margaret R. Miles, Dean, Graduate Theological Union "This is a through and creative book. Lewica engages critically with a number of different disciplines, and raises questions which reflect concerns in the wider field of mental health and social justice, in America, the UK and Australia...a rich resource for a wide range of interested groups, not only those concerned with eating disorders...a complex, challenging and rewarding book." Religion and Theology