The Obvious Game

I love having being part of the BlogHer Network.  I have had so many awesome opportunities as a result of working with BlogHer.  Recently, one of awesome things that has come out of this affiliation was receiving an advanced copy of Rita Arens' new book The Obvious Game.

I loved this book.

No, seriously, I LOVED this book.

I think Rita Arens secretly followed me around 20 years ago and wrote this book based on my life.  She just changed the location and some of the situations.

Diana is an incredibly relatable character.  She is flawed and she knows it.  In typical adolescent fashion, she thinks she is more flawed than she really is and she does regrettable things because of it.  As a mom, this was a great reminder for what my girls are going through/will be going through.  ah, adolescence!

Diana's mom has cancer and Diana has a serious eating disorder.  As someone who has an eating disorder, I felt this book was so honest and really allowed the reader to understand what having an eating disorder means, how it impacts all areas of your life, how the little voice of an eating disorder can really make you feel like crap about everything.  I have read many memoirs and novels and non-fiction books about eating disorders and I have to say this book, for me, was not triggering in any way--this book does not read like a how-to guide, there is very little blow by blow how-to details, Rita Arens gets more into what goes on in the person's head when they have an eating disorder.  Although, clinically I would no longer be considered bulimic because I am not active frequently, I do still have the eating disorder voice and this book really made me consider how that affects areas of my life other than just food.  It was actually quite eye-opening for me!

The Obvious Game is set in a rural community in 1990.  I grew up in a rural community and it is so spot on for the way we did things in 1990 from driving around fields to bonfires to parties.  I also appreciated all of the references to music from the late 80s and early 90s.

The Kindle version of The Obvious Game was released on January 30.  The paperback version will be released tomorrow, February 7.  If you are the mom of a pre-teen or teenage girl, I strongly suggest you take a look at this book, it will help you remember a little of what it was like to be a teenage girl and also give you perspective.  If you want to understand eating disorders, I HIGHLY recommend this book.  Or, heck, if you are just looking for a good book to read--get yourself a copy of The Obvious Game by Rita Arens!