Jessica Hamel-Akré’s The Art Of Not Eating is a book which readers might call critical and poignant, “especially right now”. We live in an age where the pressure to be a woman is not just high, but well-documented and fed through a daily stream of social media posts. However, perhaps what makes this history of women fasting so critical and poignant is that it proves the opposite. This is not a modern issue – women have been both metaphorically and physically starved throughout history, curbing their appetites to meet cultural expectations and fit the mold of what society deems virtuous at the time. 

The Art Of Not Easting is a mixture of historical context, literary references, spiritual observation, personal narrative and information relating to the physiological and psychological impact of fasting, which is ultimately a critique of this age-old means of controlling, suppressing and in turn, oppressing women. 

Akre has been simultaneously meticulous and empathetic in her analysis, considering everything from the motives behind fasting (be they physical, intergenerational or even performative), to how to acknowledge the extent to which fasting has been romanticised and move beyond that. She is as rigorous as a history book with this reading, interspersing the personal with the factual throughout. 

Everyone should read The Art Of Not Eating, not just those who might struggle with disordered eating or body image. The reality, Hamel-Akré argues, is that this is not a unique experience, it is one entirely woven through the tapestry of everyone’s lives to some degree.