UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS, by Portia de Rossi CAUTION: THIS BOOK MAY BE TROUBLING, PARTICULARLY IF YOU STRUGGLE WITH AN EATING DISORDER OR BODY IMAGE ISSUES Having said that, if you do struggle from an eating disorder or body image issues — it is a must read. Portia does an amazing job in this autobiography of intimately describing her own personal struggle with Anorexia and Bulimia. For those of you who have never heard of her, her before-actor name was Amanda Rogers, a girl from Australia who went on to become a well-know actor. She was best known for her roles in Ally McBeal, Arrested Development and Better Off Ted. She lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Ellen DeGeneres. Portia does speak in great detail about her crazy and extremely sad thought process and behaviours. I would suggest that if you are at risk of being triggered by past or present eating problems, ensure that you are either engaged with your therapist while reading through this book, or at least have some good supports and self care that you can rely on if you need them. It can be disturbing and bring up many issues that people struggle with on a day-in, day-out basis that non-disordered eating people do not even think about. Lucky for them. Beyond the horror that is revealed about Portia’s emotional prison that she lived in for many years, it is also a story of hope. Hope that recovery is possible. Hope that love for oneself can be attained and become your new normal. You have to read through 272 pages of tough stuff before you get there, but in the Epilogue the hope emerges. The last 30 pages of the book are jam packed with great wisdom and life lessons. Be sure to take your time reading through the Epilogue, and have your paper and pen ready. The gems that exist in those thirty pages are worth reading and re-reading and figuring out how you can implement them into your own daily life. Whether or not you have an eating disorder, it contains healthy rules for living that we all should be consciously incorporating into our own lives. Enjoy the read.