Novels
“A pancia piena”
Scatole Parlanti editions, 2024
Plot
Bologna, Italy, early nineties. Chiara is a shy and lonely little girl. She and her mother, Agata, are a small, closed system, with little interaction with the world. Chiara's daily life is made up of men who appear and disappear from her mother's life, incomprehensible secrets and a lot of fear. When she becomes curious and turns her gaze outward, the relationship with Agata worsens and becomes poisonous. At that juncture, with her first significant friendships and first crushes, Chiara also comes into contact with a strange voice, reassuring and terrifying at the same time. That voice says: “Lose weight, and everything will be fine.”
I wrote a novel to talk about eating disorders.
“A pancia piena” is my attempt to bring knowledge and empathy for those who don't know the painful reality of eating disorders, and recognition and validation, with hope of recovery, to those who experience(d) this disease.
The novel also addresses further themes: dysfunctional families, violent intimate relationships, psychological manipulation and the journey of psychotherapy, from within.
At the present moment, the book is available in Italian language only.
Links for purchase:
Scientific articles
Is a specific phobia of vomiting part of the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders? (click to view)
Veale, D., Hennig, C., Gledhill, L. (2015).