The Passion of Alice by Stephanie Grant

It's 1984. Alice Forrester is a twenty-three-year-old anorexic who has just experienced heart failure when she is taken to the emergency room of Seaview hospital - renowned for its eating disorders clinic. There, family and friends, in league with staff and doctors, intently try to steer her toward recovery. But it's not that simple. She passes time at the clinic waiting to find out the thing that is wrong with her. What happened. When and how the damage was done. Along the way, Alice encounters a fascinating array of oddballs and misfits - Dr. Paul, the physician who monitors this disparate group of afflicted young women; the psychiatric support staff whose treatment for anorexia revolves around a chillingly familiar Twelve Step program; wraithlike, flaxen-haired Gwen, whose anorexia ultimately turns into tragedy; and finally Maeve, raucous, vulgar, tender, and kind, who shakes up Alice's life and opens up her eyes. Shot through with wry wit and poignancy, The Passion of Alice is a re