Getting a daughter or son through an eating disorder can be challenging to say the least. In When Anorexia Came To Visit 20 families from across the UK talk frankly to Bev Mattocks (Please eat... A Mother's Struggle To Free Her Teenage Son From Anorexia) about the effect that anorexia had on their lives. (With a Foreword by Professor Janet Treasure, OBE PhD FRCP FRCPsych.)

Few, if any, people expect their son or daughter to develop an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa. Also, eating disorders are notoriously insidious illnesses; they can creep up slowly, almost undetected, over several months or even years. By the time families are aware that something is seriously wrong with their child, the illness can be deeply entrenched. And, once the penny drops, families are faced with the struggle of getting a diagnosis, referral and treatment whilst being forced to undergo a huge and often distressing learning curve.

In When Anorexia Came To Visit 20 families (21 if you include the author's own account which appears at the end of this new, updated edition of the book) have come together to describe their own experiences of getting their child through a serious eating disorder: boys as well as girls, from across the UK including England, Scotland and Wales, and across a wide age range from pre-teens to 20-somethings.

Not only do these 20 families want to help other parents understand this complex illness and demand prompt and effective treatment for their child - and learn that there is hope for a full recovery - they also want to provide healthcare professionals with a unique insight into what goes on, at home, beyond the confines of the consulting room as families battle with the eating disorder 24/7. Thus - in addition to parents and carers - this book is important, informative reading for everyone, from GPs and school or university medical teams to mental health practitioners and other professionals.

Of course with such a complex illness and widely differing personal circumstances, each story is different. Nonetheless there are overlaps that many families will identify with. By describing their experiences, these 20 brave families want to help others to identify the warning signs, get help and read about the tools, resources and coping strategies they found most helpful on the journey to recovery.

May these accounts offer other parents and carers the hope, strength and inspiration they need and deserve in the fight for full and sustained recovery for their daughter or son.

Note: This book is not a medical reference, nor does it endorse any particular treatment method. For diagnosis and treatment of an eating disorder you should always consult a physician.