Spaces of S(h)elf-Care: Therapeutic Narrative Readings in Anorexia

Abstract

This paper delves into the realm of art therapy, offering tentative evidence of the effectiveness of reading in anorexia nervosa (AN) recovery based on an analysis rooted in three theoretical frameworks: cognitive literary criticism, space studies and the perspective of care. In the first part, AN is discussed as a spatial disorder and one which compromises practices of care. The second part
of the paper explores narrative transportation theory, a cognitive literary studies paradigm that explores the various psychological effects of reading, and on mental imagery, a concept that focuses on the mental effects of descriptions and imagery in books. By drawing on research from these spheres, this theoretical framework serves as a valuable lens to frame the third part of the paper, which addresses the pivotal role played by reading in Laura Freeman’s journey toward overcoming anorexia, as depicted in her autobiographical work The Reading Cure: How Books Restored my Appetite (2018). In particular, the
study offers a close reading of some of the narratives Freeman addresses in her work, meaning the fiction and non-fiction texts she found inspiring, which exclude poetry and drama, and which stimulated her appetite through vivid descriptions of food.