Anorexic Alice in Hungerland by Cathy is a quite different take on Lewis Carol’s classic, Alice in Wonderland. It tells of an Alice who desperately tries to be thin as she goes through the wonderland, inspired by the “pretty poppies who never pig out on pastries” and “dancing dandelions who never dig into dinner.” This is a startling wake-up call to people wandering through this wonderland of skinny, as the Alice at the end finds “only darkness as [she] decompose[s] six-feet deep in the dirt” when she is thrown back into the real world. In this real world, she, in other words, died from her disorder.

I think this a fantastic piece showing people exactly what they are dealing with. They can be in the Wonderland, starving themselves ‘happily’ as aspiring anorexics, but sooner or later they would wake up to the crushing reality: being as skinny as that can kill.

I have seen several different interpretations and stories based off of Alice in Wonderland, but this is probably the most unique one that I found. It uses vivid language and description, guiding you step by step through ‘Hungerland,’ as you avoid temptation and count every calorie gained or lost. The last line was especially powerful: “There is no waking up from this dream in a field of daisies for Anorexic Alice, only darkness as you decompose six-feed deep in dirt.” It starts off rather cheerful, and they shows you this crushing fate, which is a very realistic one.

People will not take many things seriously about their weight, and will brush it off easily in their ignorance, but I hope that people now may see themselves as Anorexic Alice. Thank you, Cathy, for this astounding piece. Heed Cathy’s warning.