4 poignant and inspiring stars for The Girls at Swann Street

Anna Riux is a professional ballet dancer. Battling her emotional demons - imperfection, loneliness, failure, guilt - leads her on a dangerous downward spiral to anorexia and depression. To say that Anna's harrowing journey to reclaim her life affected me would be an understatement. There were moments of inner dialogue that left me with tears streaming down my face. This may be a work of fiction but it was an intimate, heart wrenching and emotional look at battling eating disorders.

I don't know about you but I have definitely had moments where my emotions fuel my eating - feeling so anxious I can not eat or so emotional that I want to eat every sweet in sight. We have all had moments where life feels out of our control. How do you handle it? When Anna felt like nothing was going her way she chose to control what she could - her food intake.

17 Swann Street gave us an insightful look at treatment. It was hard to read about the forced high caloric intake meals, feeding tubes and limited access to bathrooms. I felt for these women who were battling to save their lives. The anxiety over something as seemingly innocuous as sitting in front of a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast was palpable.

I was moved by the love between Anna and her husband Mathias and the support both he and her father desperately provide. With them championing her healing Anna was able to become vulnerable enough to make strides toward recovery. I was touched by the support the women in the rehab house provided to each other. Solidarity, understanding and encouragement are crucial to any recovery.

This is definitely an emotional read. If you opt to pick it up be prepared - you will not put it down unscathed. Your emotions will be all over the place and your heart will be broken but you will come away stronger for having endured 17 Swann Street and sharing the journey of its inhabitants.

Thank you to Yara Zgheib, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an arc of this amazing book.