Episode details

Radio 4,15 Aug 2006,60 mins
Middle-Aged Anorexia; Marilyn French; Introducing a Second Child
Woman's HourAvailable for over a year
Marilyn French is regarded as one of the finest feminist writers. Her novel The Women’s Room was published in 1977 and sold more than 20million copies before quickly becoming a classic of the women’s movement. Almost 30 years after its publication French reflects on the anger within the novel and why she wanted to write it. Is sibling rivalry a fact of human life once another child is born or can you spend equal amounts of time with the first as well as a new demanding baby? Dr Miriam Stoppard and author Jane Purcell talk about how to make it easier for your first child when a second child is born. Are presents the answer? Plus, why Bengali Hindus create images of their goddess Durga during their largest festival Durga Puja and why she is so revered. Annorexia and bulimia can strike from anyone from ages 8 to 80. Susan Ringwood from the Eating Disorder Association and author Alison Alden talk about how eating disorders can take hold at any age.
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