Camille Cellier is an author and illustrator of children’s books.
Didier Pleux is a doctor in development psychology, a clinical psychologist and the director of the French Institute for Cognitive Therapy. Renowned for his works on education, he is the author of many highly successful books published by Editions Odile Jacob: De l’enfant roi à l’enfant tyran (sales of 40,000 copies), Un Enfant heureux, Peut mieux faire and the recent De l’adulte roi à l’adulte tyran.

An original ‘inside’ view of anorexia to help us understand the disorder: this book reproduces the diary that Camille C., a young anorexic woman, kept while undergoing psychotherapy. She discusses her feelings of ambivalence, her commitments, anxieties, the dark places in her mind and, ultimately, her will to live.
As we follow her day-to-day experience of anorexia we witness her progression toward health. How did she — and how can anyone — overcome anorexia?
The diary gives the reader a unique ‘fly on the wall’ experience of what is normally a private therapy session, revealing the subjects of confrontation between patient and therapist, their beliefs and certainties.
Psychotherapy is a struggle that demands both parties to question themselves. Patients must stop being in denial and begin to envisage their new lives, while therapists must abandon their theoretical knowledge and focus on the individuality of each suffering patient in order to assist them in the process of rebirth.

• The description of anorexia from the patient’s viewpoint provides new insights into the disorder.
• The therapist’s work and the face-to-face encounters culminating in a cure are presented in counterpoint.
• As the therapy progresses, the patient-therapist relation is regularly assessed.