Anna was a dancer. She lived in Paris, she loved deeply, she breathed in life, and she ate with gusto. But as the years went by, things changed. She was injured and could no longer dance. She fell in love with and married Matthias, but when his job moved them from France to America, she struggled with loneliness. Although she was close to her father and sister, she still mourned the loss of her brother and mother, both taken from her when she was way too young.

As her anxiety grew, she fought it by controlling what she could—she controlled what she ate. And when that consumed her, she found herself at 17 Swann Street, in a bedroom of colors so strong she called it the Van Gogh room.

As Anna meets the other girls in the house, she learns more about her enemy anorexia and her allies in the fight against it. Her denial, her stubbornness, her determination, her mistakes, her disordered thinking, her new friends, her abandoned dreams, and her family all mix together in this story of one woman’s fight to save her own life against a deadly disease.

Yara Zgheib’s moving story of a houseful of women in an inpatient treatment center is both heart-rending and heart-warming as they stand together to try to live. The Girls of 17 Swann Street is so moving and intimate, it almost reads like a memoir, as the desolation and anxiety that Anna know all too well follow her day by day, moment by moment, through her journey to self-acceptance. Anyone wanting a better understanding of disordered eating, of living with anxiety, or of the strength of the human spirit to survive will not find a better book to read than The Girls on 17 Swann Street.

Very highly recommended for anyone who won’t be triggered by the subject matter.

Galleys for The Girls at 17 Swann Street were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.