Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Stand Tall Little Girl: Facing Up to Anorexia
    Unavailable
    Stand Tall Little Girl: Facing Up to Anorexia
    Unavailable
    Stand Tall Little Girl: Facing Up to Anorexia
    Audiobook5 hours

    Stand Tall Little Girl: Facing Up to Anorexia

    Written by Hope Virgo

    Narrated by Elizabeth Hopper

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Read the ebook instead

    About this audiobook

    This honest account of Hope's struggle with anorexia is both insightful and an inspirational story of recovery. Her openness tackles the stigma around mental health. This is a must read book. - Dame Kelly Holmes

    "Hope writes with incredible honesty and openness, her journey is truly inspirational, not just to those with mental health struggles but to all humankind." - Jonny Benjamin, MBE
    'I know how anorexia makes you feel: you think she is your friend, you think she can solve everything and make you feel amazing … but she will destroy you and everything around you, piece by piece.' - Hope Virgo.

    For four years, Hope managed to keep it hidden, keeping dark secrets from friends and family. But then, on 17th November 2007, Hope's world changed forever. She was admitted to a mental health hospital. Her skin was yellowing, her heart was failing. She was barely recognizable. Forced to leave her family and friends, the hospital became her home. Over the next year, at her lowest ebb, Hope faced the biggest challenge of her life. She had to find the courage to beat her anorexia.
    In Stand Tall Little Girl, Hope shares her harrowing, yet truly inspiring, journey. Through her letters and diary entries, Hope tells us how she fought from rock bottom to beat the 'friend' that had controlled and nearly destroyed her life. The story of Hope's recovery will inspire countless others.

    Trigger are proud to announce Theinspirationalseries partner to their innovative Pullingthetrigger range. Theinspirationalseries promotes the idea that mental illness should be talked about freely and without fear. Find out more at triggerpublishing.com
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTrigger Audio
    Release dateJan 8, 2019
    ISBN9781789560473
    Author

    Hope Virgo

    Hope Virgo is a leading international and award-winning advocate for people with eating disorders. She spearheaded the #DumpTheScales campaign which calls on the government to review the eating disorder guidance delivered by clinicians. In addition, Hope works with young people and employers to deal with the rising tide of mental health issues.

    Related to Stand Tall Little Girl

    Related audiobooks

    Self-Improvement For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Viewpoint

      Aug 2, 2022

      In your August 2022 issue, I read about Dr Julie Smith and her book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? and felt compelled to buy it. It’s filled with so many insights and practical examples and, as you read it, you can’t help but think, ‘That’s me!’

      3 min read

    • Article

      Brain Food

      Oct 20, 2021

      Brain Food
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Secret Life of Grief

      Dec 3, 2013

      The Secret Life of Grief
      12 min read

    • Article

      Soul Survivor

      Aug 14, 2019

      Soul Survivor
      6 min read

    • Article

      BOOKMARK THIS read…listen…stream

      Oct 27, 2020

      Emotional Resilience In the Age of Rage, Feels & Freak-Outs Ralph De La Rosa • Shambhala Spiritual bypassing, a term first coined in psychology, refers to misusing spirituality or wisdom teachings by zeroing in on their “feel-good” aspects, while min

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Happiness Course

      Apr 14, 2021

      JUST as Family and Friends Divided had become Friends Reunited and the wretched Trump era laid to rest, Harry and Meghan gave their Oprah interview and a whole new Grand Canyon opened up again. This chasm really surprised me because my team was aston

      4 min read

    • Article

      Counter Culture

      Aug 31, 2022

      Counter Culture
      3 min read

    • Article

      Lie Back And Listen

      Jul 8, 2022

      Lie Back And Listen
      2 min read

    • Article

      State of A nation

      Nov 4, 2022

      State of A nation
      6 min read

    • Article

      Can A Medium Cure Grief?

      Feb 6, 2022

      Can A Medium Cure Grief?
      7 min read

    • Article

      Menopause Matters

      Oct 18, 2021

      The studio resounds with quick-fire questions, shared anecdotes and loud laughter as some of our most popular TV presenters, actresses, sportswomen and entrepreneurs get to know each other on our exclusive HELLO! shoot. While Penny Lancaster, 50, and

      7 min read

    • Article

      Finding Her Silver Lining

      Jun 1, 2020

      Finding Her Silver Lining
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Medium Is The Message

      Mar 8, 2020

      The Medium Is The Message
      6 min read

    • Article

      Living With An Open Heart

      Nov 24, 2019

      Living With An Open Heart
      6 min read

    • Article

      It’s Not ‘All In Your Head’: When Other Doctors Give Up On Patients, A Boundary-breaking Neurologist Treats Them

      Jun 19, 2018

      It was through her own experiences with mental illness that neurologist Dr. Alice Flaherty learned to care for patients that other physicians had given up on.

      10 min read

    • Article

      Warrior Women

      Apr 2, 2020

      Warrior Women
      7 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Talk About Death

      Dec 29, 2019

      Let’s Talk About Death
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Ascent of the Sick-Girl Narrative

      Jun 27, 2019

      Why have literary memoirs of illness written by women become so popular over the last few years? And what does their success say about our society? The post The Ascent of the Sick-Girl Narrative appeared first on The Millions.

      15 min read

    Reviews for Stand Tall Little Girl

    3.5/5

    7 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Stand Tall Little Girl is a memoir by Hope Virgo that focuses on her experience with anorexia nervosa. If you are active on social media, you may recognize Hope from her Dump the Scales campaign to stop weight being used as a barrier to mental health services for people experiencing eating disorders. Throughout the book Hope refers to her Anorexia as a person (using the pronouns she/her) to capture the role it played in her life. There are sections written by her mom to capture the family perspective on Hope’s illness, and these add an interesting layer to the story.The seeds of her illness began early; while growing up, she was skilled at hiding painful emotions and acting as though she was okay. By age 12 she had become weight-conscious food dominated her thinking. She mentions that she got positive feedback after losing weight because of an illness, which is a stark reminder of the potential for harm that can result from messages praising thinness.She describes how at the time she experienced anorexia as a good thing; it became her best friend, as it helped numb the pain and made her feel valued and worthy. She felt a sense of achievement with each meal she skipped, exercise she did, and calorie information she learned, whereas she felt that she was bad at life in general. The sense of worthiness anorexia provided came at a cost; “I knew I’d need to go on proving my worth if I wanted her to go on believing in me.”Hope’s family didn’t recognize the problem until her school raised concerns, and a chapter written by Hope’s mom explains how this could have happened. Even after she started seeing the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, she continued to try to lose weight. She describes the various tricks she would to deceive others about her weight. She would vomit in the shower so she wouldn’t be heard, and studied the emesis to make sure everything she’d eaten had come back up. She tried to hide this at her weekly appointments by consuming large volumes of water, wearing layers, and putting weights in her pockets to make it look like she was gaining weight.She became sufficiently ill and at risk of serious medical consequences that she was hospitalized for a year. When she was admitted, she “wondered if the scales would be accurate. Would they show how good at anorexia I was? Did it mean I was a successful anorexic now that I was being told my heart was about to fail?” She describes the experience of being an inpatient, including the strict routines that were imposed to manage the illness. Even in hospital, she would try to find ways to minimize her intake and exercise without the treatment team noticing.She explains the challenges of managing post-discharge, and anorexia maintained a presence in her life. “The battle with my Anorexia was entering a new phase. I didn’t know if I should listen to her. I knew she’d let me down, but how could I push her out of my life when she had been such a vital part of me – and such a trusted friend for so long?” It was hard for her to imagine “what it would feel like to get up in the morning without feeling fat, and without a compulsion to exercise, or count calories. In a way, these things were all a part of my identity now.”Despite some significant stressors over the next few years, she continued to work on her recovery, despite anorexia trying to sneak its way back to the forefront. After a death in the family, she “flirted” with the pull of anorexia, exercising more, counting calories, and weighing herself frequently. She was able to find the courage to reach out for help, but discovered that despite her symptoms, not having a significantly low body mass index (BMI) “only made things harder – I wasn’t going to be thin enough for a quick referral and I wouldn’t be eligible for any extra support.” The idea that someone could be not thin enough for help is profoundly disturbing.She writes about how she’s been able to move forward since that setback, and she’s able to have days when she doesn’t feel her anorexia. She acknowledges, though, that she can never let her guard done, because anorexia will still be there waiting to destroy her and everything around her.Hope has even been able to identify some positives that have come out of her illness: “The one thing I do know is that my Anorexia has made me who I am today. It has made me determined, and maybe even slightly stubborn. But it has also made me driven and ambitious. It has changed me for the better, and whilst I still ask why it chose me, I don’t think it really matters.”This book offers a powerful, up-close view of anorexia nervosa. Hope is very open and forthright about her experience. She allows the reader to see the way that anorexia can twist people’s thinking, and how seductive it can be once it has grabbed hold of someone. While she is open about the ongoing challenges, she also offers a very hopeful message that recovery is possible.Hope has taken a serious illness and used it to become a strong advocate for people with eating disorders. She is a remarkable example of the transformative power that mental health advocates can have.