If you want to know what it's like inside an eating disorder, this is your chance. It's hardcore, but reading it, you understand how it happens. At least I could see it.
De Rossi (not remotely her real/given name) is a serious overachiever from childhood, the kind of kid who goes undefeated in classroom times tables challenges for years because she's drilled them so hard, even though she's not especially adept at math.
De Rossi did ballet, was a school track star and a model as a kid and had begun study at Australia's most prestigious law school when she got cast in her first movie. Her struggles with food, weight and body image, began when de Rossi was twelve. I don't recall if she says exactly when her lesbian sexuality (and resistance to it) emerged, but that was entwined with the self-hatred that caused her to starve herself.
It's a quick, though sometimes difficult read, and you wonder what-all she leaves out. De Rossi's recovery and hook-up with television's most iconic lesbian don't feature heavily, though it's clear from the epilogue how important de Rossi's marriage to Ellen DeGeneres is to her recovery.
Also, I was scared of lesbians. In fact, I would cross the street if I saw one coming toward me. One time I didn't cross the street and I ended up sleeping with a lesbian because I felt sorry for her.