★ "Compelling and authentic, this story is impossible to put down."
-Booklist, starred review

Jennifer has to force her family to realize
that she needs treatment for her eating disorder.

But her experience in an eating disorder treatment unit
isn't quite what she expected.

Fifteen-year-old Jennifer has to force her family to admit she needs help for her eating disorder. But when her parents sign her into the Samuel Tuke Center, she knows it’s a terrible mistake. The facility’s locked doors, cynical nurses, and punitive rules are a far cry from the peaceful, supportive environment she’d imagined.

To be discharged, Jennifer must make her way through the strict treatment program—replete with harrowing accusations, confusing half-truths, and startling insights. She is forced to examine her relationships inside and outside the hospital. She must relearn who to trust and decide for herself what “healthy” truly means.


Punctuated by dark humor, gritty realism, and profound moments of self-discovery, Believarexic is a stereotype-defying exploration of belief and human connection.
Believarexic
Believarexic
by J.J. Johnson
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Language: English
Format: Hardcover (Paperback coming October 2017)
Price: $18.95
ISBN: 978-15-6145-771-7
Release Date: October 1, 2015

Awards:

​Young Adults’ Choices ―International Literacy Association, 2016

Keystone to Reading Book Award (High School Nominee) ―Keystone State Reading Association, 2016-2017

Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List (Senior High) ―Kansas National Education Association, 2016

Eliot Rosewater High School Book Award (Nominee) ―Association for Indiana Media Educators / Indiana Library Federation, 2017-2018

Reviews:

★ "Compelling and authentic, this story is impossible to put down." -Booklist, starred review
"...a powerful story of healing and self-acceptance." -Kirkus Reviews
"...A lovely book that I would highly recommend.

Here was the hook:
"'In her heart, J.J. knew that she would be a happy, healthy adult one day. But how? Instead of a clear road to that future, J.J. was lost in a twisting maze. She needed a guide, a mentor, someone who knew her inside and out. So one morning before weigh-in, J.J. closed her eyes and promised: When I’m grown up, and thriving, I will come back to this me- here, now. Healthy me will help bulimarexic me find the way.'

"So much of recovery is about trusting that thread that you are sending into the future for yourself. The courage it takes to send that thread out ahead of you into your future life often gives you the grit and vulnerability required to delve back into the past to heal the hurt parts of yourself…" -Dr. Linda Shanti, eatingdisordersblogs.com
★★★★★ "Believarexic ends with hope, but not unconditional triumph. Jennifer has the tools to recover, but there has been no magic potion... She has to work on herself. And sometimes you --sometimes I-- slide backwards. But I hang onto hope... And I believe. I believe that I am more than my illness. I am more than my weight. I am more than what I ate for dinner. I am twenty-eight years old and I still don't know everything about myself. That's fine. Because I believe." -Pamela on Goodreads
★★★★★ "Gut wrenchingly beautiful. I save my five star reviews for the books that change my mind, my way of thinking, and pierce my heart. Spot on. Won't forget this book anytime soon." -Leigh S. on Goodreads
★★★★★ "Wow. I have been there and this is it. This is a memoir that does it right. Careful, non-triggering, affirming, and heart-pounding. Brava." -J. on Goodreads