I have written a book! Running Free: My Battle with Anorexia is being published on 9th August 2022.
Here is a short extract:
“Organ failure. Resuscitation Unit. Death. What causes someone to starve themselves to the brink of death? To starve themselves to the point where they can’t walk, can hardly talk, and where their heart is barely beating to keep them alive? The answer? Anorexia.”
Running Free: My Battle with Anorexia is my harrowing yet inspirational true story of how I went from Olympic hopeful to hours away from death, detailing my suffering and recovering from anorexia. I was first diagnosed with anorexia in 2008, aged 19. Between 2008-2011, I spent most of this period in eating disorder units receiving treatment for my anorexia. I became a revolving door patient, having repeated and lengthy hospital admissions and was considered to be a lost cause. However, I am now in recovery and am a public speaker for eating disorders awareness and train as an athlete again.
I started writing my book back in 2016. I would write the odd bit here and there after work. My book includes diary extracts that I wrote throughout my experiences and at times it could be quite difficult re-reading my diaries and seeing how unwell I was. But it also gave me the continued motivation to keep writing my book and telling my story. Because I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what I experienced. I hoped that in sharing my story, it might help to do that. Also, for those already struggling and fighting their own battles, I hoped that my book would provide inspiration and hope that things can get better.
I’d read a lot of other eating disorder memoirs over the years. But I felt that I could never relate to them fully. They tended to be people who had developed an eating disorder as an adolescent, admitted to an adolescent unit, and then began their journey of recovery. It was great and helpful to read those stories, but my journey didn’t fit with it. This left me questioning whether I could recover, because my story didn’t seem like all the other recovery stories.
With now being in recovery, it felt additionally important for me to share my story in case there were others out there who were feeling like I had. Who felt their story didn’t fit the general narrative. Written as someone who was an adult, a revolving door patient, chronic, and hopeless, I wanted to share my story for those in similar situations to how I was. Because a better life is possible. And if my book helps just one person, then it will all have been worth it.
You can order my book from Amazon and other book retailers. Links to all retailers including amazon can be found here: https://srlpublishing.co.uk/product/running-free
If you want to find out a bit more about my book then please click here: Rebecca Quinlan Book
If you want to read a bit more about my journey then my do have a read of recent blog post Athlete to Anorexia to Athlete
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