An intimate, revealing, and refreshingly frank memoir, Bitter Ice tells the story of a wife’s search for independence in the shadow of her husband’s battle with anorexia.

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“I don’t remember exactly when he — my husband, Tom — started eating ice. At first I didn’t notice because it was infrequent, but gradually it became a constant and the crunching grated on my nerves. Ice was a substitute for food, and frozen water gave Tom the illusion that he wasn’t drinking the liquid he feared would make him bloat.”

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“The most stunning finding was that virtually none of the men had told a professional about his problem. Some of them didn’t even know they had a recognized psychiatric disorder…”

— Dr. Harrison G. Pope, Jr., professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-author of The Adonis Complex

One morning, my partner Bob and I were going up the long escalator at the Harvard Square subway/T stop. I noticed a young man looking at me intently as he stood on the descending escalator. When we were parallel, he pointed to me and asked, “Are you Barbara Kent Lawrence?”

“Yes,” I replied, surprised he knew my name.

“You saved my life!” he exclaimed.

“How?” I asked.

“Bitter Ice,” he replied — and then he was gone.

I’ve written this book for him, and for all the other men and women who are partners of men with eating disorders.

— Barbara Kent Lawrence

What experts in the field of eating disorders are saying about:
The Hungry i

“A true breakthrough in the understanding of Male Eating Disorders! A must-read for everyone in the field of eating disorders. So little is known of this topic. Barbara Lawrence uses a workbook to express the issues in a straightforward and easy-to-understand format. This is a user-friendly work of scholarly art that is truly needed! I am delighted to endorse The Hungry i and wish it the success it deserves.”

– Dr. Ira M. Sacker, Eating Disorders Specialist

Dr. Sacker is the author of the bestselling book Regaining Your Self: Breaking Free from the Eating Disorder Identity and co-author of the ground-breaking book Dying to Be Thin. He is a visiting professor of Pediatrics at New York University Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Medical Center, maintains a private practice, and is a leading expert in the field of eating disorders.

To Order Your Copy

The Hungry i: A Workbook for Partners of Men with Eating Disorders is available at:

greenebarkpress.com,
amazon.com,
and through Gurze Books.

For a signed copy, email the author at bkl@barbaralawrence.com.

Price: $19.95 plus shipping

For event bookings or media inquiries, contact Rob at Inception Marketing Group (IMI Group):
Phone: 778-330-4226
Email: desaderal@yahoo.com

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Review in the Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle

“A Malnourished Ego”
By Lucy R. Sprague Frederiksen, Correspondent
Published: January 27, 2011
Read full article here

Hamilton resident Barbara Kent Lawrence describes her new book, The Hungry i: A Workbook for Partners of Men with Eating Disorders, published in September 2010, as a workbook. Following her 1999 memoir Bitter Ice—an account of her 25+ years married to a man with a severe eating disorder—her goal is to help others recognize symptoms and cope.

Even without a direct eating disorder connection, the memoir and workbook offer insight and support to many. Lawrence quotes from her memoir throughout The Hungry i and includes reflections from men struggling with eating disorders. Her writing is lyrical, personal, and educational.

The book explores hard questions about relationships, personal responsibility, enabling, and recovery. While it doesn’t urge immediate divorce, it encourages awareness and understanding of one’s role in such relationships. Lawrence stood by her partner for over 25 years and now shares tools she wishes she had.

The workbook format includes:

• Signs and symptoms of eating disorders
• Worksheets and exercises for self-reflection
• Summaries, references, and Internet resources
• “Time Outs” — ideas for self-care and journaling

Lawrence’s background in anthropology and education informs her view of eating disorders as both cultural and psychological phenomena. She highlights that one in four or five eating disorder sufferers is male, and this number is growing.

Her exercises encourage readers to explore their relationship timelines, emotional health histories, and personal strengths—offering healing through self-understanding.

The Hungry i gently reminds us: we are not so different from those who suffer deeply—just fortunate not to bear the same burdens. As Lawrence writes, “The truth can make us free.”

© 2011 Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle. Some rights reserved.