Solitaire: The Compelling Story of a Young Woman Growing up in America and Her Triumph over Anorexia

by Aimee Liu

Solitaire is the ground-breaking first-hand account of a young girl's passage through anorexia nervosa. Aimee Liu's true account is also a portrait of middle-class adolescence in early 1970s America.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Psychology, Mental Illness, Mental Health

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Aimee Liu is a best-selling novelist, essayist, and nonfiction author based in Los Angeles.

Her 2020 novel GLORIOUS BOY, published by Red Hen Press, has received rave endorsements:

"The most memorable and original novel I've read in ages. Aimee Liu… evokes every side in a multi-cultural conversation with sympathy and rare understanding."
– Pico Iyer

“A riveting amalgam of history, family epic, anticolonial/antiwar treatise, cultural crossroads, and more, this latest from best-selling author Liu is a fascinating, irresistible marvel.” — Library Journal, starred review

”This fascinating novel examines the many dimensions of war, from the tragedy of loss to the unexpected relationships formed during conflict. The Andamans are a lush and unusual setting, a sacred home to all kinds of cultures and people, and Liu’s prose is masterful. A good choice for book groups and for readers who are unafraid to be swept away.” — Booklist, starred review

Glorious Boy is a tale of family devotion, war, and survival. Set on India's remote Andaman Islands before and during WWII , the story revolves around a mysteriously mute 4-year-old who vanishes on the eve of Japanese Occupation. Little Ty's parents, Shep and Claire, will go to any lengths to rescue him, but neither is prepared for the brutal odyssey that awaits them.

Aimee is also the author of GAINING: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders, published by Warner Books, February, 2007. Drawing on her own history of anorexia as well as interviews with more than forty other former anorexics and bulimics, Liu picks up her exploration of recovery where she ended her acclaimed memoir of anorexia nervosa, SOLITAIRE (Harper & Row, 1979), at age twenty-five. Back then, she thought recovery meant eating well. Gaining proves that healthy nutrition is only a first step. True recovery requires a new understanding of the role that genetics, personality, relationships, and anxiety play in these disorders. Liu uses cutting edge research to dispel the myth that fashion is to blame. She examines the real reasons eating disorders -- at all ages -- are on the rise, and how they can be prevented in future generations.

Aimee has three previous novels. FLASH HOUSE (Warner Books, 2003) is a tale of suspense and Cold War intrigue set in Central Asia. CLOUD MOUNTAIN (Warner Books, 1997) is based on the true story of her American grandmother and Chinese revolutionary grandfather. Liu’s first novel, FACE (Warner Books, 1994), deals with mixed-race identity. These books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Before turning to writing fulltime, Aimee edited business and trade publications and worked as an associate producer for NBC's TODAY show. She has co-authored seven books on medical and psychological topics. Her articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in anthologies and periodicals such as Cosmopolitan, Self, Glamour, and Good Housekeeping.

Aimee Liu was born in 1953 and raised in Connecticut, received her B.A. from Yale University in 1975 and her MFA from Bennington College in 2006. She lives in Los Angeles with her family; teaches creative writing in Goddard College’s MFA program; and is a past president of the national writers’ organization PEN USA.

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book after reading Gaining, by the same author. Solitaire was a severe disappointment. There was no drive to the actual writing, the narrative wasn't compelling, and I came away with very little understanding of the reasons behind her illness. Most importantly, the resolution took place in a matter of a few pages, in an aha-now-I-am-magically-healed type of way that made me go, "Uh-huh. Right."

[Karen Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very Realistic And Profoundly Gut Wrenching Portrayal

My own eating disorder was triggered by my mother’s obsession with my body’s weight when I was 13 years old.

When mandatory Weight Watcher’s meetings and weigh-ins failed, she took me to a doctor who prescribed diet pills and weekly shots.

Many of the heart wrenching thoughts, feelings and behaviors Aimee eloquently shared about her own eating disorder were hauntingly familiar to me.

Although I’ve been gratefully abstinent from my own disease since 1988, many of my own former food horrors briefly re-emerged. Those fleeting memories served to remind me to honor and love my body one day at a time. And to remember that for me, this is a lifelong journey.

Should you read this book? Yes. Especially if you are searching for understanding of this insidious disease. Maybe for yourself or for a struggling loved one. It will bring clarity.

Aimee is a brilliant writer whose words beautifully flow like silk across each page.

If you’re a writer like me, you should definitely read this book to experience her exceptional word play. Aimee’s writing is mesmerizing.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book, about the author's struggles with (and apparently spontaneous recovery from) anorexia many years ago. I can clearly remember the circumstances in which I read it. I was in training at a military base in Texas, eating as little as possible and running the six mile perimeter every day. In other words, during one of my own anorexic phases. At the time, I didn't much like this book. I thought it was stilted and contrived, although the only part I clearly remembered was the description of the Italian almond beverage that the author didn't partake of. (My God, did that thing sound delicious!)

**Minor spoilers to follow**

Since it wasn't that expensive on my kindle, I decided to try this again in, now that I am in better mental health, and see if my opinion had changed. The answer is: yes and no. My three-star rating remains unchanged, but I now appreciate how the author presents her anorexic years as being part of the scope of her entire life--her molestation by older boys when she was a child, feeling like an outsider, being upset by her parents' non-stop arguing, feeling abandoned by her older brother, etc. All of this certainly sets the stage for insecurity. But why an eating disorder? The book is a picture-perfect case study of the "golden cage/best little girl in the world" theory of anorexia: the child too afraid to rock the boat, who always has perfect grades and wonderful self-control, and who shows the cracks around this perfect life by retreating into anorexia. Well, obviously that is true for some, hence this book.

I was still unsatisfied by her sudden recovery. So one day she just realizes it doesn't make any sense and snaps out of it? Still not convinced. And I still found the writing rather stilted and self-conscious. But if, like me, you really love these eating disorders memoirs, you would probably be remiss not to check this one out.

[Sue Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had had anorexia and bulimia for many years when I read this book. I could completely understand her distress at her parents’ constant strife. Then at the end she said, in essence, that she just got over it and it didn’t make sense anymore. I felt more despair than ever after reading that; apparently I could just snap out of it. If you read her next book, “Gaining”, she admits that after her anorexia she became bulimic. Guess the book wouldn’t sell too well with a truthful ending

[K Aust · Rating 2 out of 5]

Insufferable.

[Gina Cummings · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Memoir about a young woman with an eating disorder. Liked but did not love.

[Janet Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5

[Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the book vividly portrayed what the life of a young person struggling with anorexia is like, the ending was very weak. After years of struggling with self-image and insecurity, the author described having a revelation one day while in her first year of college that led her to see everything differently and change her life completely. This was hard to understand since many girls have to go through therapy and sometimes even hospitalization to recover from this disorder. I felt the author made it almost it sound like her anorexia was just a part of adolescence and growing up. Since most adolescents make it through adolescence without having to starve themselves,I had a hard time following the thought processes she writes about. I'm glad I read it because it shed some light on the eating disorder of anorexia but it was not what I had hoped for.

[Emily Coffey]

I read this book for my American Lit class hoping it would maybe shed some light on eating disorders. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a personal autobiography about Aimee Liu's struggle with anorexia. I would say it is a pretty good book, but wasn't necessarily what I needed for my project. It is eye opening and very raw and real in what her daily routine was while battling anorexia. I could tell and felt it was very personal story and it would have been no easy task for her to write about it. She put a personal face on the topic of eating disorders. Overall, this book made me kinda sad, but also showed what goes on in the mind of someone with an eating disorder and also what kind of things can trigger the cause of an eating disorder, not just the desire to be thin or skinny.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The memoir of a woman who struggled with anorexia. Published in 1979 but didn't seem dated. She's a good writer, so it was easy to read. She's written a more recent book so I might read that one as well.

[Meg Beiler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little lack luster, pretty much your typical eating disorder memoir. Liu's second book "Gaining" was much much better and was full of hope in recovery. Reading the back story in "Solitaire" was important though.

[Amanda]

Read sometime in the academic year of 2005-2006.