I'm trying to do some research so I can grasp a greater understanding of bulimia and its victims. I've read a book, but that's not the same as learning from someone who has actually experienced it.
You probably are wondering why I'm asking this. Well, I'm working on an inspirational Christian book. I wrote a short-story version of it, which turned out very well, but now I want to write a novel to better explain the characters and what's going on. My main character is a girl who has lost her older brother and her father in a car accident. Her mother, who blames her for their deaths, is emotionally abusive. Her mother has little to do with her life, and has no interest in changing that. The guilt and emotional suffering causes her to feel useless and unworthy of love. As a result, she begins to binge on food to numb the pain, but because her mother always criticizes her and calls her a pig, she begins to force herself to throw up.
This is the part I need to grasp real well, because if I don't convince the reader, the rest won't work.
After this, she meets a friend who invites her to church, and slowly she begins to grow a little interest in Christianity and converts. Then later (she doesn't magically change everything in a day) she decides she wants to devote her entire life to Christ, and she begins to live like it, showing Jesus to the world through her actions. Even at home with her mother, she slowly begins to change the life of her mother. She and her mother even begin to talk to each other about their daily lives (something they haven't done and years). In addition, with the love and support of her new Jesus family, she recovers from her bulimia, and actually begins to put on a few pounds, but she didn't care anymore about her image.
But then something goes wrong. Driving back home at night, she swerves to avoid a drunk kid who walks into the road, hitting an oncoming vehicle head-on and killing her. Then comes the scene for which the entire story is drawn from; the funeral. People from all around gather around to give tell her goodbye and thank you.
So you see, I need to be able to get into the head of a bulimic to really make this story life-changing for people. She has to be believable, or my readers will not respond as well. I'll take whatever you have to offer.
You probably are wondering why I'm asking this. Well, I'm working on an inspirational Christian book. I wrote a short-story version of it, which turned out very well, but now I want to write a novel to better explain the characters and what's going on. My main character is a girl who has lost her older brother and her father in a car accident. Her mother, who blames her for their deaths, is emotionally abusive. Her mother has little to do with her life, and has no interest in changing that. The guilt and emotional suffering causes her to feel useless and unworthy of love. As a result, she begins to binge on food to numb the pain, but because her mother always criticizes her and calls her a pig, she begins to force herself to throw up.
This is the part I need to grasp real well, because if I don't convince the reader, the rest won't work.
After this, she meets a friend who invites her to church, and slowly she begins to grow a little interest in Christianity and converts. Then later (she doesn't magically change everything in a day) she decides she wants to devote her entire life to Christ, and she begins to live like it, showing Jesus to the world through her actions. Even at home with her mother, she slowly begins to change the life of her mother. She and her mother even begin to talk to each other about their daily lives (something they haven't done and years). In addition, with the love and support of her new Jesus family, she recovers from her bulimia, and actually begins to put on a few pounds, but she didn't care anymore about her image.
But then something goes wrong. Driving back home at night, she swerves to avoid a drunk kid who walks into the road, hitting an oncoming vehicle head-on and killing her. Then comes the scene for which the entire story is drawn from; the funeral. People from all around gather around to give tell her goodbye and thank you.
So you see, I need to be able to get into the head of a bulimic to really make this story life-changing for people. She has to be believable, or my readers will not respond as well. I'll take whatever you have to offer.
