All That Fills Us

April 2, 2022

DEBUT Twentysomething Melanie "Mel" Ellis is nearing rock bottom when she awakens in a hospital room after passing out as a result of her eating disorder. Rather than undergo treatment, Mel sets out on an ill-planned hike from Michigan to Mount Rainer where she believes she will finally find whatever has been missing inside her. Mel's journey is filled with physical hardships made all the worse by her anorexia and the ghosts of her past mistakes. After having to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive, Mel slowly begins to realize that restricting food intake is not the answer to her problems. Lytle draws on her own experience with eating disorders to take readers inside Mel's mind and misguided thinking about her own worth and health. An author's note at the end stresses the need for those who suffer with eating disorders to get help, but no list of resources is given. VERDICT Recommended for inspirational fiction collections although readers who suffer from eating disorders may want to approach with care as the content can be potentially triggering.--Heather Webb

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2022
Mel Ellis knows her eating disorder and exercise obsession are killing her, but living as a daily disappointment feels worse. When doctors insist she do something before it's too late, Mel decides to make a pilgrimage by foot from her Michigan home to Mount Rainier in hopes of enlightenment and healing. During her journey, Mel wrestles in her prison of self-condemnation as her disease consumes her body and mind. But she discovers that the road to recovery is well-traveled by fellow broken humans searching for something or someone big enough to fill their empty bodies and souls. All That Fills Us is a compelling drama of the complex battle with the debilitating longing for perfection as enacted through a severe eating disorder. First-time novelist Lytle does not shy away from any angle of Mel's struggle, thoroughly revealing the shame and addictive allure of self-destruction. Told in an equally raw and wry first-person narration, this tale bears powerful witness to how the individual's quest for wellness is necessary groundwork for collective healing.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.