Quite good, and it's refreshing to read a book on eating disorders that focuses on the struggles of recovery, as opposed to the years of disordered behavior. (For an example of the latter, read Wasted by Marya Hornbacher. Like many other of this type, it's a veritable how-to manual for anorexia and bulimia.) Covering her inpatient stay for EDNOS, Johns presents her own view of recovery, including those there with you who fall by the wayside. Overall, quite good.The only problem I have with Purge is the emotional detachment. There are some very tragic, very heart wrenching things discussed in this book, and yet the author holds herself aloof, as if she is unable to connect with the emotions she is giving lip service to. She makes it very clear that, during her inpatient stay, she had a very difficult time letting go and feeling her emotions - this carries over to her writing. Whether she is simply not a good enough writing to handle emotionally charged material, or whether she is still refusing to connect with her own feelings and experiences, I don't know. But it cost her two stars.
Still, recommended to the mentally disordered segment of the population, if only for an insider's view of mental health inpatient treatment. Not as scary as it seems.
