The Denim Diaries: A Memoir

I received an Advance Reading Copy from LibraryThing of this free verse memoir by Laurie Boyle Crampton. I haven't read a memoir free verse before but I think that is a great way to emphasize what is important in your story and let the unimportant details drop out.

I immediately identified with her situation. I had a close relationship with my father; he and my mother separated when Both Lauries and I were the same age. This book brings out the emotions when one parent goes away. When it is from divorce or separation, there is a tremendous amount of pain and thinking that maybe you caused the separation. She felt abandoned by her father and resentful of her mother let Laurie take on the role of mother to her younger siblings. She wanted show more her father but she had no choice but to care and feed her younger siblings. When I read her book, I can feel an enormous hole in her. She tried to fill it with food and she got harassed by her peers and the ultimate shock of her father telling her that she was fat. That part of her life was like mine. I did not go through binging and purging but I shared a great deal of self-hatred for not being slim. But my father always maintained a relationship with me and I can feel the terror of her father not even asking for joint custody. I was a thousand times more fortunate than she. I suspect the reason that she did not include her road to recovery in this book is that when you have an eating disorder, it is cruel because you still have to eat to live and although you may find a balance by learning to love yourself, there is always the possibility of a fall with self-hate.

I appreciate all that she put into this book and I know that it helped me to understand myself more. show less

Where to begin when reviewing this book? It's raw and honest, reads like an AA fifth step, has plenty of painful moments, but also, like the AA preamble, offers experience, strength and hope. It does so not only for battle scarred veterans of low self image and eating disorders, but more importantly, for teens who are struggling with their own eating and body image issues. Definitely a book that should have a place in public and school libraries where personal narratives relevant to teen health are valued.

I did not expect to enjoy this book. I am not a big fan of poetry and I worried it would be stale and slow. It was anything but! I got hooked almost immediately. I felt like I was getting the highlights of her story, the key pivotal moments, without the "story building" background time. It moved quickly, given the few words on each page, but I felt like I was on a journey with her. The only complaint I had was at the end - - things wrapped up suddenly and without quite enough explanation for me. I want to call her up and ask her for more details! I agree with another reviewer who mentioned the role this could play in a middle/high school setting. I almost cried when she realized she was not alone. This book could play that role for show more others as well.
(I received this book as an early reviewer in exchange for an honest review. My review is based only on my own thoughts.) show less

Crompton's poems give an in-depth look into the thought process of a person with an eating disorder. It's fascinating to watch her go from a carefree little girl to a young woman struggling so much. The style and subject matter within the poems reminded me of a mix of Amanda Lovelace's poetry collections and Jessica Valenti's "Sex Object".

I wish Crompton had included more poems about her life after her recovery journey started, but maybe she's saving that for the next memoir.

Thank you to Lerner Publishing Group and Library Thing for the gifted copy!

Told through free verse with honesty this memoir takes you on an emotional journey from childhood to adulthood. Crompton's voice is sincere as you follow her to her lowest of lows and feel the hope that she has once she decides to fight to live. Many young women will recognize themselves in this book as society pushes thinness as a beauty standard.

I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers programme.

In The Denim Diaries: A Memoir, Laurie Boyle Crompton describes events in her life through free verse poetry.

Told with a delicate touch, the memoir will touch the heart. Definitely a must read.