All That Fills Us by Autumn Lytle: Book Review

 **I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All thoughts are my own. 

Mel Ellis knows that her eating disorder is ruining her life. Everyone tells her rehab is her best option, but she can't bring herself to go. Broken and empty in more ways than one, Mel makes one last-ditch effort to make hers a story worth telling. She will walk her own road to recovery along the lesser-known trails of the North American wilderness.

Though she is physically and mentally unprepared to face the difficulties that lay ahead, she sets off on foot from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and heads toward Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. During the long journey, she meets strangers with their own stories, as well as ghosts from her past who can no longer be ignored. But though the land she travels threatens her success at every turn, it's her own dark thoughts she'll have to overcome in order to find peace in the life and the body she has been given.

With pitch-perfect timing and delightfully witty self-awareness, debut author Autumn Lytle masterfully leads readers on a journey down the hard path toward healing.

Autumn Lytle identifies with a strange group of humans who enjoy running long distances and writing even longer books. Along with being a forever-recovering anorexic and exercise addict, she is a weirdly good checkers player and finder of four-leaf clovers. She spends her days thinking up stories and trying to figure out this whole parenting thing with her son. She can often be found out exploring her hometown of Seattle, Washington, with her family in tow. Learn more at www.autumnlytle.com.

All That Fills Us is a beautifully written book... but one that, for some, should be read with caution. 

I have read many books that deal with eating disorders throughout the years, but I feel like this one really did a great job of capturing the disordered thoughts that come along with that. We see Mel's thought process quite well... which for someone who doesn't have experience with an ED might help to better understand those who do struggle with these same thoughts. On the other hand, for those currently struggling it could potentially be quite triggering as well. The details given about what Mel was eating--- while certainly helping to allow readers into her thought process--- could also be used by someone struggling as a how to. I would still strongly recommend this story, as I feel like it is an important one to be told and the author truly did an amazing job in doing so... but it is not one that everyone should be reading either.