Something Spectacular

The True Story of One Rockette’s Battle with Bulimia

By: Greta Gleissner

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Greta Gleissner, a longtime professional dancer, dreamed her whole life of becoming a Rockette. Then she became one and she fell into the grips of a powerful eating disorder that began poison her life from the inside out. Something Spectacular is Gleissner's raw, personal chronicle of the devastating effects bulimia exacts upon her life during her time as a Rockette. As her disorder takes over, she begins to lead a dual life: happy-go-lucky on the outside; tortured by obsessive, self-destructive voices on the inside.

Immersed in an environment in which even talent is secondary to appearance, Gleissner hides her disorder by any means necessary lying, cheating, and stealing with no regard for the consequences of her actions until she hits rock bottom and is forced to face the truths behind her disease. Her intensive odyssey of self-discovery ultimately gives her the strength to reshape her self-image, embrace her sexuality, and break free of the malignant hold bulimia has on her life. The first book to give voice to the pervasive but often unaddressed problem of eating disorders in the dance industry, Something Spectacular is a gripping expos of the insidious nature of eating-related diseases and a profound account of one woman's journey toward self-acceptance and recovery.

©2012 Greta Gleissner (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Amazing

Excellent book for anyone with an eating disorder or loves someone with this. The author knows what she's talking about.

Very honest & insightful

The author does not hold back, and never glamorizes her eating disorder. She shares her darkest times, what kept her sick, and how she eventually recovered.

Great Support Book for Recovering Bulimics

Gleissner's memoir tells it like it is without glorification or gratuitousness, and Pearlman's voice really helps to convey the sort of character I imagined Gleissner to be based upon her own characterization. Parts of the book felt vague if not discarded -whatever became of her journey with her sexuality or her ability to deal with her past traumatic experiences?- however, overall, the book suggests hope not only for Gleissner but anyone who has ever combated an eating disorder and wanted "to win."

High Kicks and Heaving

Greta Gleissner doesn’t pull any punches describing the experience of Bulimia, from the daily junk food shopping frenzy to techniques of “purging” and hiding the evidence. I was horrified, and spellbound listening to this.

I learned quite a bit from this book about the similarities of eating disorders and addiction, and the psychological toll of the quest for perfection and love.

Gleissner goes deep in to her background and you can see how something like this would develop long before she was a dancer. Critical mom, unintentionally cruel dad, depression. coming to learn that when she was sick, people paid attention and that “sick equals love.” BOY

Dina Pearlman really sinks her teeth into this reading, like all these worlds are the thoughts scrolling through her head in real time.

A Good Memoir, Badly Narrated

The book itself was compelling - eye-opening, heartbreaking, honest, and, ultimately, hopeful. But the narrator was not a good fit at all. It almost ruined the book for me.

The narrator sounded like a midwestern 90s soccer mom, but the book was about a young woman in her 20s. It just was not a good match. The narrator also had a bad habit of inserting mirthless chuckles into the reading. Like a short, humorless laugh. It was weird and it happened a lot. By the end of the book, it was driving me crazy.

Ultimately, I’d say listen to the sample before buying. You can hear the narrator’s quirks and decide if it’s something you can get past. I got past it, but barely.

Thank you

Amazing, wonderful raw and real. She was so honest it was scary, I connected to her within the first 5 minutes and I just want to say thank you Greta your book has really opened my eyes and given me hope

same journey

true to life story......have walked same journey same journey with with my own daughter. bulimia is a horriid monster

Therapeutic just to listen to

If you could sum up Something Spectacular in three words, what would they be?

Therapeutic, Open, fluid

Who was your favorite character and why?

I wouldn't say character simply because the book is about someone's life, but I definitely felt like I had so much in common with Greta, it takes so much to be able to bare yourself open specially when dealing with an addiction.

Which character – as performed by Dina Pearlman – was your favorite?

I personally LOVED Dina Pearlman's narration of the story, it really gave life to the narration.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Definitely the closing chapter, I felt very moved by her remarks.

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book to anyone going through any sort of addiction, is very relatable, very honest, and certainly taught me a few things about dealing with bulimia.

A Survivor

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Cannot believe all she went through. This book is scary. The author suffered so much. Some of it is hard to listen to. It does not romanticize; it scares the reader away from these behaviors. But the insights into life as a dancer are interesting.

What other book might you compare Something Spectacular to and why?

I have read a lot of eating disorder memoirs, but none revealed to me the pain and suffering of the disorder as vividly as this, or frightened me as much.

WOW

Raw and real story of an amazing and awful journey. I laughed and cried all thru the book. I will listen to this again for sure.