Holding Out for a Zero

"I’m doing the right thing, not feeding myself. It’s the only thing I can do, so I will do it. Gloria can somehow have the energy I don’t take in, and it will help her stay alive."

Twenty years ago, fourteen-year-old Valerie rushed off for lunch with her boyfriend instead of properly putting away a packet of balloons, and her little brother choked to death on his third birthday. In response, Valerie locked down every aspect of her life so she could never lose control like that again, and she...