This book was very eye opening and difficult to read at times. While I have never had an eating disorder, I can only imagine the toll it takes emotionally as well. There were parts that were unrealistic and I had a hard time connecting to Mel. While I understood her pain, I didn't like her very much...I also didn't realize that this book was Christian Fiction. As a Jew is was hard for to relate. Overall: it was just an okay read.

First of all, I have to admit that it irritates me to no end when people award lesser stars for a book because they are unaware that it is Christian fiction. If you don't consider the genre or publisher, that's on you.

A heart-wrenching journey of a broken young woman, searching for something bigger than herself.

Told in the first person, this story does a good job of showing the ways that the disease affected Mel, in her thinking, how she viewed others and herself through its lens. Most of the book is her walking on her journey to Mt Rainer, passing the times with her thoughts and her memories. She meets a full cast of colorful characters, trail angels, who tend to her physical and mental needs. I loved each of their unique and compassionate hearts.

Mel has a complicated relationship with her faith, and her parents were portrayed as unlikable do-gooders with big visions that didn't include the family in front of them. Mel is drawn to Catholicism and she encourages herself with stories of the saints and their righteous pilgrimages, but she also seems open to other more new age things and self-help, self-love mantras. Theologically it is safe to say that I did not agree with the book.

Overall, this was a difficult book for many reasons. Her journey was long and it was hard to read her story painted through such a lens of cynicism and disease, but at the same time that is what was well done as it showed how the disease was harming her. At times the book was whimsical, with the many friends she made along the way that brought hope and color to her world. The end felt a little anti-climatic to me personally, neat and folded up like that, so there was that too. In the end this just wasn't a book for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a very powerful read. A poignant insight of the world of eating disorders. It was a tough read in places but so well written you just couldn't help but want to read more. The healing powers of others was shown at its best.

Definitely a recommended read.

Thank you Netgalley

As you walk the road with the character, in her eating disorder, you feel her body dysfunction. She is running from what she knows to be true, and yet she doesn't know it to be true. She cannot allow love from others in her life, because she does not see value in herself. It was a hard book, one that is hard to like, yet you cannot help but like it. A hard topic matter. There is not romance or other things to lighten up the book, but a focus on the journey of someone learning to accept themselves as strong.

Author Autumn Lytle draws on her own eating disorders to craft the story of Mel Ellis, who despite knowing her ED is killing her, cannot stop. Uplifting and raw, a necessary story of triumph and struggle.

I could definitely relate to Mel's excitement at reaching Mount Rainier. I made it! I got to the end of this book! This is a hard book to read. Mel has an eating disorder and reading all of Mel's thoughts, especially in the beginning of the book is difficult. I appreciated the detail and level of realism the author gave to Mel's thought life. It helped give me some perspective on what someone with an eating disorder is going through and how someone can say one thing but their brain interprets it entirely differently.
On to what I didn't like - This book is published by Revell, a Christian publishing company and while Mel seems to come from a catholic background based on the discussion of saints and scripted prayers, it her beliefs seem more in line with naturalism and mysticism.
Her mom - oh goodness. If her dad is as fantasticly awesome as she makes him out to be, how did he not say anything about what their mom was doing to the kids in regards to food? (Laps around the table if you eat dessert? Not normal.)
Alex - The first portion of the book before she explains what lead to her eating disorder (depression from not finding a job and the upbringing from her mom) I thought Alex was the reason for the issue. It seemed like everything was some negative thing about her said with a twist of humor to make it seem not so harsh ("you only plan things 75% of the way" or the story about how she forgets everything all the time) but then at the end she writes that she is coming back to him and it kind of is hinted at that they are living together ("he walked out OUR door").
Overall, if you want to know a bit about the thought life of a person who struggles with anorexia, give the first several chapters a read and then stop there. The whole journey isn't worth it.

While I have a complicated relationship with food, I've never experienced anorexia or truly understood the condition. Lytle really got me into the skin of someone struggling with the problem and helped me empathize. There was a point where it became a bit much for me, but ultimately, the heroine's realizations and redemption felt like something I could embrace as well. Well done!

All That Fills Us tells the story of internal struggles - of a girl who has lost her way and fallen into a dark hole she's trying to dig herself out of.

I struggled to get into this and it took a lot of stopping and starting in order to finish. There were parts which didn't seem realistic but overall it was a pleasant read. For once I don't have much to say regarding a book - It was enjoyable and real, but also unrealistic in places and a little shallow.

Where to start with this story? I appreciated the journey that Mel goes on to work through some of the difficulties she has had in her life, especially those tied to her anorexia. My heart broke for her as she struggled to see herself as she truly is. I appreciated that the author drew some from her own personal journey.
This is not a book for someone who is dealing with an eating disorder, or even someone who has struggled with one in the past. It's a good piece of women's fiction though. I was a little surprised that it didn't have more of a spiritual side to Mel's journey of discovery.
Overall, an interesting read that gave me a lot to think about, especially as the mother of a young daughter.

I don't know much about eating disorders. But I learned a little more by reading this novel.

Written by a recovering anorexic and exercise addict, I heard through the main character Mel Ellis how devastating anorexia can feel, both physically and mentally.

The plot was a little thin for me. Mel decided on a whim to hike, all alone with no preparations, from Michigan to Mt. Rainier in Washington. I had many questions that the book didn't address about how this journey would have been feasible.

But the action moved forward at a rapid enough pace to keep me interested.

I received this book from NetGalley and Revell for review.

All That Fills Us was one of those books I had to keep putting down and picking back up immediately. It was written so true to life that sometimes it was a little overwhelming, especially for someone who could relate to the eating disorder symptoms. It was amazingly written, the characters (all of them) were so true to life. I love how Mel thought she had such a great childhood yet as she kept healing, she realized there were things in her childhood that needed sorted through, forgiven and then let go. I love, love, love how throughout her journey she came across people in her path that literally at times, saved her life, and how their meeting and her staying with them for a while changed/blessed them both. I also loved how she wrote postcards to her ex, and then they were able to reconcile, both from a healthier place. This was an amazing book, one who’s details have stayed with me. It was a tough subject and very true-to-life, yet offered so much hope throughout.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

This is the story of Mel, a young girl struggling with severe anorexia and a very unhealthy relationship with exercising. At a breaking point, she leaves everything behind, including treatment, and embarks on a cross country journey, vowing to walk from Michigan all the way to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state. Neither ready physically or mentally, she sets off on her pilgrimage, determined to see Mount Rainier in person, something she’s dreamed of seeing since she was a young girl.

This books was so much more than I thought it was going to be. Written in first person narrative, you are pulled into Mel’s eating disorder and given a front row seat to her internal struggles with food and exercise. I’ve always found anorexia fascinating from a clinical standpoint so this book was right up my alley. There were times you just want to stop Mel from continuing on her journey, wrap her up in a big hug and force her into rehab as she seems so close to the brink of death. But the journey goes on and the people Mel meets on the road were some of the best parts of the story.

This is a beautiful story, although heartbreaking at times, full of hope and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great ending too!

*side note: it didn’t even occur to me while reading it that this is Christian fiction novel. Don’t let that sway you. There is some god talk, but no more than in any other book where a character is perhaps a bit religious or goes to Church. But it was not a prevalent theme in this book at all imo and definitely not preachy. Not sure why some readers are bothered by this. So many books mention god or praying lol.

**thank you to netgalley for the advanced digital copy. All opinions my own.

All That Fill Us is a compelling, emotional story of a young woman who has lost her way by losing herself in all that she perceives as failures. In doing this, her problems now are manifesting themselves in an eating disorder that is slowly killing her.

Mel is a bright and often witty character that most could relate too. She knows what she is doing is unhealthy and she knows she is hurting herself and those she loves as well. However, the mind is a powerful thing and so are the voices that come and tell us that we are worthless or not enough, or that we are failures. And they are especially loud when circumstances in our life derail us from the life we thought we could achieve. When careers don't pan out, or sickness comes, or especially when you lose the love of your life, these circumstances can make us feel even more worthless and if left unchecked, can push us to believing the lies about ourselves.

This is Mel's journey as she starts out from her home to journey across the country to Mt. Ranier in an effort to have a pilgrimage of sorts. What she discovers on the way is that she is so much more than just a number from the scale that she is valuable and loved. Even loved and cared for from complete strangers. To survive life, Mel must learn the lessons along this journey, face an uncertain future, and put into a better perspective her past, her family and the love of her life, Alex. But ultimately, she needs to find her worth and value in the One who finds her more valuable and precious than she ever thought.

This is a deep and heartfelt story of a woman, who could be any of us with any sort of problems, and her journey to beginning to get well and truly learn to be content in all circumstances.

I was provided a copy of this novel through the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

This story took me a while to get into. Mel was all over the place in the beginning and I was trying to sort her out. This is not a book for everyone, you definitely have to have a strong constitution to read about her serious anorexia and her compulsive exercising. It is not an easy topic and not everyone will be able to stomach it. While overall I appreciated the sentiment of the story, I felt like the 2000 mile trek was unrealistic. I know people can definitely overcome anorexia on their own, but as bad off as Mel was, it didn’t seem plausible she could hike across the country in her condition. But this is fiction so I can let it slide. My favorite part of the story was all of the people that Mel met along the way. I loved how she found amazing people to fill the void inside of her. I was really shocked when the book ended, I didn’t feel like there was a clear resolution. I wanted closure with her Mom, her grandma, her ex boyfriend, and her eating disorder. I found the ending to be abrupt. However overall, I enjoyed the story and Mel’s journey to healing. I received a copy of this book for free; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have to admit that as someone who has never had an eating disorder, I was frustrated with the main character in the beginning. I don't understand anorexia and I was struggling to relate to how the disorder was prompted by a romantic breakup. However, I hung in there until the end and I did gain a bit more insight into the way the disorder works and the emotional toll it takes on everyone.

This was a very difficult book for me to read. Someone close to me is dealing with the same thing Mel is. It was hard to be in Mel’s head and think this might be the same thoughts this other person in my life thinks. There were times I didn’t like Mel and times I wanted to hug her.

I also wasn’t sure if I would find this book interesting since it’s Mel by herself but she meets people along the way and it was very interesting and the people she met were all interesting and played a part in her healing.

This book doesn’t get wrapped up all nice and neat. Actually, I had a different ending in my head but sometimes a messing ending is okay, because that is they way real life is.

I will say I struggled with the author capitalizing the work earth, like it was a “being” and I don’t like the way Christians were portrayed in the book. The truth is, the things that Mel’s mom said were true, it was just the way she said them that needed some work. I almost felt like this was a Christian bashing book and made Christians look bad and showed people with no faith as kinder then Christians.

Aside from that it was a good book.

A copy of this book was given to me through the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I will be honest, it took me a minute to get into this book. I had a couple of false starts, but once I was able to settle in, I was fully engaged. This story was unlike anything I have read. It was thoroughly fascinating to be in the head of someone who was struggling with an eating disorder and mental illness.

The journey itself seemed impossible. I was sure there was no way at a good outcome. However, the mental health journey was just as important as Mel ran into people who were willing to help and wouldn't take no for an answer.

The relationships and growth in this book were compelling. I felt so many emotions as I read. I wanted to convince her of her worth, and help her confront her mother. I wanted to hug the women she met a long the way.

I was moved by this story and want to see Mel's journey to better health, I want to see her interactions with family and with Alex. I wasn't ready for it to end.

I received an early copy from the publisher and netgalley and this is my honest review.

Mel Ellis is battling anorexia and she wants to cure herself. She undertakes a walking journey from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State. This is a trek that would be challenging for the physically fit and prepared. She is neither. The story is told in her own words with wit, candor and insightful observations.
The author has created a protagonist who readers will get to know quite well and she is well worth knowing. She grapples with emotions and questions many have faced. She has faced disappointment and seeks purpose and usefulness. The narrative is so well detailed that readers feel they are walking with Mel. Will this undertaking give her the strength she needs to heal?
Expertly paced and beautifully told, this book is well worth reading. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In my opinion I felt that this new to me author has done an amazing job with the tough subjects that are involved. At times I've found myself wanting to cry because it was painful watching Mel go through her journey.
I like that this book shows us how there are still some wonderful people out there.
The cover. Very interesting with pretty colors. Don't think I've ever seen a cover quite like this one. I love it for it's uniqueness.