Aimee Liu's Biography

Aimee Liu is the author of GAINING: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders, published by Warner Books on February 22, 2007. Drawing on her own history of anorexia as well as interviews with more than forty other former anorexics and bulimics, Liu picks up her exploration of recovery where she ended her acclaimed memoir of anorexia nervosa, Solitaire (Harper & Row, 1979), at age twenty-five. Back then, she thought recovery meant eating well. GAINING shows that healthy nutrition is only a first step. True recovery requires a new understanding of the role that genetics, personality, relationships, and anxiety play in these disorders. Liu uses cutting edge research to dispel the myth that fashion is to blame. She examines the real reasons eating disorders – at all ages – are on the rise, and how they can be prevented in future generations.

Aimee Liu also is a novelist. Flash House (Warner Books, 2003) is a tale of suspense and Cold War intrigue set in Central Asia. Cloud Mountain (Warner Books, 1997) is based on the true story of her American grandmother and Chinese revolutionary grandfather. Liu’s first novel, Face (Warner Books, 1994), deals with mixed-race identity. These books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Before turning to writing full-time, Liu edited business and trade publications and worked as an associate producer for NBC’s Today show. She has co-authored seven books on medical and psychological topics. Her articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in anthologies and periodicals such as Cosmopolitan, Self, Glamour, and Good Housekeeping.

Aimee Liu was born in 1953 and raised in Connecticut, received her B.A. from Yale University in 1975 and her MFA from Bennington College in 2006. She lives in Los Angeles with her family; teaches creative writing in Goddard College’s MFA program; and is a past president of the national writers’ organization PEN USA. In 2006 the Academy for Eating Disorders, an international professional organization dedicated to the advancement of research, prevention, and effective treatment of eating disorders, named Liu the first member of its newly formed Advisory Board.