Letting Ana Go
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Products | Book |
| Owner | Simon & Schuster |
Letting Ana Go is a 2013 novel, released without the author's name, focusing on a young girl battling anorexia nervosa. The story centers on "Ana," a high school sophomore and track athlete who meticulously tracks her food intake while becoming emotionally detached from her family. Her mother faces challenges with morbid obesity and is undergoing a separation from her spouse. The narrative sheds light on deficiencies within the U.S. mental health care framework and the financial obstacles that hinder effective treatment for eating disorders. Published through multiple Simon & Schuster imprints, the book emphasizes significant concerns regarding healthcare affordability.
Plot
Written anonymously under the alias "Ana," the novel portrays the protagonist’s gradual struggle with anorexia against a backdrop of familial instability. Ana’s mother contends with obesity and negative self-image, while tension arises from her father’s involvement with a younger partner. Although financially comfortable, the parents’ disputes impact both their spending habits and emotional availability; Ana receives a car as a gift but experiences minimal warmth, which deepens her sense of isolation.
Ana and a privileged teammate named Jill begin maintaining food diaries to shed pounds for their track team, which soon turns into an obsession intensified by thinspiration websites and ambitions to join a ballet company. As her parents separate and financial resources become constrained, Ana adopts her mother’s harsh refrain, "nothing tastes as good as thin feels," propelling her weight loss to perilous extremes. Hospitalized due to complications, Ana ultimately succumbs because her family lacks access to specialized eating disorder treatment—contrasting with Jill, who recovers after receiving private care.
Reception
The reception of Letting Ana Go was mixed. Publishers Weekly labeled it "a harrowing cautionary tale" depicting the ordeal of a talented high school athlete overwhelmed by anorexia. Andrea from The Overstuffed Bookcase emphasized its pertinence for today’s youth, noting its exploration of issues such as calorie-counting apps and societal pressures affecting both genders. Conversely, Kirkus Reviews critiqued the novel as "a disturbing tale" that appears more sensational than educational, drawing unfavorable comparisons to the provocative pseudo-diary Go Ask Alice.
Other reviewers offered more favorable assessments. Karen Coats of Johns Hopkins University Press regarded it as "a more credible examination" than Go Ask Alice. Maddie Caso from Entity Magazine commended its exploration of themes beyond eating disorders, including divorce, competitive sports stress, and adolescent alcohol use. She highlighted the authentic portrayal of anorexia’s psychological impact and underscored the book’s political commentary regarding insurance coverage for eating disorder treatments. Caso also pointed out the novel’s capacity to encourage recovery among sufferers and increase awareness about the risks associated with eating disorders.