The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict

By William Leith

'Hunger is the loudest voice in my head. I'm hungry most of the time'

One January morning in 2003, William Leith woke up to the fattest day of his life. That same day he left London for New York to interview controversial diet guru Dr Robert Atkins. What started out as a routine assignment set Leith on an intensely personal and illuminating journey into the mysteries of hunger and addiction. The Hungry Years charts new territory for anyone who has ever had a craving or counted a calorie. This story of food, fat, and addiction will change the way you look at food for ever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781408849309

William Leith

William Leith has worked as a columnist and feature writer at the Independent on Sunday, the Mail on Sunday and the Observer. His writing spans a wide range of subjects, from food to celebrity, cosmetic surgery, fashion and film. He has written about kings in Africa, political tension in Palestine, gold mining in the Klondike, Hollywood film directors, diet gurus and the death of James Dean. He is the author of three previous books: The Hungry Years; Bits of Me Are Falling Apart; and The Trick.

Reviews for The Hungry Years

[skinglist · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

an interesting book, but I wasn't that wowed. There was a lot of back and forth to when he was thin(ner) but he didn't seem to be willing to make changes. He knew what he was doing wrong and how Atkins might have helped - but seemed to be treating it as more of a toy. Maybe some of his other writing is better, but I didn't find this to be well put together

[reinadecopiaypega · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book ! I enjoyed his writing so much that I went out and bought his two other books.

I can understand how this would not be a 5 star book to some, but to me it was as it is was so relatable to my own life and horror stories of having binge eating disorder for 33 years, self loathing, clothes that fit one week but not the next, the shame, the self-disgust, the endless attempts and failures of trying to lose weight but getting nowhere fast for decades.

This is a warts and all book, it is not prettified so as not to disgust others. It is a book written by a drug taken, alcoholic, binge eating man in England.

I enjoyed it and nearly every page I found myself smiling saying, ' yep, been there done that William, it is not only you '.

A

[ediedoll · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A compulsively (I couldn't resist, sorry) readable memoir that I finished in just two days. Leith chronicles his struggles with food, as well as drinking and drugs, and the slow process of recovery. It is rare to find a book on any type of eating disorder by a man, so that is one reason I would recommend it. Another reason is that it is funny and true. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, but especially anyone who has had any sort of compulsive behavior in their lives, or in the lives of their loved ones.

[meggo_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have to say that the author is one sick fellow. Compulsive, addicted to food, drink, drugs, women, he is the soft underbelly we all possess but don't dare show. I was alternately repelled and drawn to this story, and found it an uncomfortable one to read, in part because it struck so close to home. Worth reading, but be warned - this book will make you look twice at your own coping behaviours.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of one man's obsession with food and the effects that had on him and his life. It also details the love-hate relationship he had with carbohydrates until he met Dr Atkins and started the atkins diet quite successfully. Though it does segue after that into a morass of drug use and self-abuse and I'm not sure where he was going with the end of the book. It's an interesting look at self-image, food and how it's consumed by people

[silvercowrie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Subtitled Confessions of a Food Addict. This is Leith's vision of himself as a compulsive eater, his relationship with food, and how he sees himself and other overweight people. He takes a look at the food industry, diets - he meets Atkins to interview him a few weeks before his death, and looks at his own emotional eating through therapy. A quick and easy read and at times really quite funny whether you identify with it or not.