McCurdy is a wonderful storyteller. You empathize with her and understand her adolescent need to please her mom. You get the stifled nature of her youth and her small escapes like church and acting classes. As someone who's struggled deeply with eating disorders, her feeling that BED and bulimia are manifestations of "failed anorexia" is so familiar and heart-wrenching. It's a dark story, but not depressing with McCurdy's wry wit as accompaniment.