Now available for purchase: here!!
I am very excited to announce that my first book was published July 22nd, 2019!
The Clinical Guide to Fertility, Motherhood and Eating Disorders: From Shame to Self-Acceptance, 1st 
Edition
This book is a comprehensive guide to addressing, working with, and healing from emotional struggles related to fertility and eating disorders.
Covering the emotional, psychological, and physical impact of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, this book explores the lived experience of numerous women and men who have endured the experience of eating disorders, fertility, and parenthood. It delves into research on medical complications that can affect fertility, attachment, the experience of shame, and adjustment to the postpartum period, and offers clinical tools for therapists to use to support clients from a weight- and body-neutral perspective. Those who read this book will come away with a renewed sense of hope for recovery and healing from serious mental illnesses, and the notion that the value of having a family may be stronger than the eating disorder itself.
The only book of its kind, The Clinical Guide to Fertility, Motherhood, and Eating Disorders will be useful to practitioners, therapists, and scholars alike.
ORDER the book here!!
Advance praise for The Clinical Guide to Fertility, Motherhood, and Eating Disorders: From Shame to Self-Acceptance
“The Clinical Guide to Fertility, Motherhood, and Eating Disorders combines the (all-too-sparse) literature on themes of fertility and eating disorders with individual narratives about people’s deeply personal experiences. This is a valuable resource for patients and clinicians alike!”
Jennifer L. Gaudiani, MD, CEDS, FAEDFounder & Medical Director of the Gaudiani Clinic and author of ‘Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications or Eating Disorders’
“With a gentle and reassuring voice, this book explores the complex relationships between eating disorders and fertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, and motherhood. By helping to dissolve feelings of isolation and shame, as well as providing support and practical information, it is truly a gift for those who struggle with them and a contribution to the field.”
Anita Johnston. Ph.D.
Author, Eating in the Light of the Moon
Co-founder, Light of the Moon Cafe
“Kate Daigle’s new book, “The Clinical Guide to Fertility, Motherhood and Eating Disorders: From Shame to Self-Acceptance” is a a valuable resource for mental health professionals across disciplines, specifically those who work in maternal mental health and eating disorder recovery. It is also a useful resource for those medical professionals- physicians (OB, pediatricians, reproductive endocrinologists, family/general physicians), nurses, nutritionists and others – who support women who have struggled with disordered eating during this vulnerable period. Mothers are experiencing and reporting greater pressure for “perfection” in their new role. It makes sense that this will require that we have greater understanding how these pressures impact women who have struggled with eating disorders, either currently or in the past. The need for resources related to the intersection of perinatal mental health and eating disorders is growing, and Ms. Daigle’s book fills important gap in the field.
Kate’s relatable and approachable writing style will make the reader feel like she is having a conversation with a wise friend or colleague who is speaking from experience. Kate brings not only her vast knowledge, but her whole self to this work. The use of case studies brings to light the very real challenges women and their partners face, and personalize their struggles for lay and professional readers alike. The exercises suggested throughout the book are excellent tools for use with patients or clients in a clinical setting and provide guidance for those moments when you might not be sure what to say or do next.
Kate’s book bridges a gap between the fields of maternal mental health and eating disorders. Although there are significant resources in each field, there are few resources that span the two fields and bring them together in a such clinically cohesive way. Her work is a welcome and much-needed addition to the field!”
Jennifer Harned Adams, PhD, Clinical Health PsychologistDirector, CO Chapter of Postpartum Support International, Center for Maternal Fetal Health at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver, CO
“Kate Daigle makes an important contribution to the literature on the relationship between eating disorders, fertility and motherhood in The clinical guide to fertility, motherhood and eating disorders: From shame to self-acceptance. In the book, she addresses the themes of guilt, shame, and loss that often affect women with a history of various types of eating disorders. Using a strong research-based approach, Ms. Daigle also incorporates personal vignettes and case histories to illustrate the issues of attachment, conception, miscarriage, unplanned pregnancies, and postpartum challenges. She acknowledges the presence of shame and perfectionism that often drive eating disorders, and advocates for self-acceptance as a potent antidote to these powerful feelings. In the book, each chapter contains clinical “tools” or strategies that medical and mental health professionals can implement when working with women who struggle with eating disorders and reproductive concerns. This book fills a much-needed gap in the literature for clinicians, and speaks to the invisible struggles that must be addressed by health care providers.”
Marsha I. Wiggins, PhD
Professor Emerita, University of Colorado Denver & Executive Director, Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES)
Author of From Heroine to Hope: Making Sense of the Loss of a Child
Podcasts:
Kate has been featured as a guest expert on the following podcasts:
BBC World Service, The Food Chain, “What Will You Eat if the Apocalypse Comes?” , August 2017
Eating Recovery Center, The Mental Note, “Baby Body? Pregnancy and Body Image”, March 2018
Other publications:
Cosmopolitan UK magazine, “Anorexia and Infertility: What an eating disorder threatens your ability to have children”; November 2019.
“Mindful Gardening: Six Seeds to Sow to Nourish a Thriving Recovery“, National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, August 28, 2014.
“A Woman’s Story of Healing an Eating Disorder By Growing Her Own Food“, Loveself Magazine, published on November 6, 2015; Kate is interviewed and featured as one of the magazine’s ‘Inspirational People’.