Lisa Ray Opens up About an Eating Disorder That Took Years to Heal

A chilling fact she reveals in her book is her experience with a ‘serious eating disorder that took years to heal’.

Lisa Ray poses with a copy of her book Close to the Bone.

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

Model, actor, cancer-survivor, philanthropist and social activist Lisa Ray has donned yet another hat with her memoir ‘Close to the bone’. Her debut book as a writer describes her life in just the way she wants, and yet again, inspires the world by laying bare her struggles, her difficult times, and most importantly — her determination and willpower to get her through it all.

A chilling fact she reveals in her book is her tryst with a "serious eating disorder that took years to heal”. She tweeted a picture of herself from the “era of Polaroids and cigarettes”, describing it as rather “painful”.

By opening up about her eating disorder, she has brought back into discussion a reality that many people, especially in the fashion and film industry, may be living in.

Nutritionist Kavita Devgan explains that the disorder is characterized by extreme loss of appetite for food and an obsessive fear of weight gain.

“With anorexia what starts as an ordinary intention of a slimmer body soon becomes an obsession to pursue the impossible because people with this disorder continue to think they’re fat even when they are bone-thin.”

Kavita Devgan

In an interview with Livemint, Lisa Ray had said, “I know this is deeply personal material that I own and I have tried to tell my story in a way that makes sense to me as a writer. I am trying to celebrate my debut as a writer but am also terrified of putting that much of myself out there. However, having dealt with cancer, I have to say it doesn’t faze me nearly as much as it could have before.”