Review: Restricting, Binging, and Self-Love in “Milk Fed” by Melissa Broder

The last time I was at a buffet, I found myself surrounded by stations full of unbridled excess: piles of coconut shrimp, spaghetti, a prime rib the size of a small child. As I filled my plate, restraint steadied my hand. I could have taken two plates full of fried rice back to my table, and nobody would have stopped me. I could have gotten seconds and thirds, followed by a bite of every perfectly portioned dessert: a spoonful of flan, carrot cake, frozen yogurt dusted with sprinkles. I could have, but I didn’t, because I wanted to maintain some sense of control over my food and my body. That choice, and all of the complicated factors that go into it, is part of the balancing act Melissa Broder explores in her 2021 novel Milk Fed.

Our relationship to hunger is complicated: It’s evolutionary, it’s psychological, it’s emotional. You can be hungry for a meal, hungry for love, and hungry for that which you cannot have. Milk Fed is a carefully considered exploration about an anorexic Hollywood talent assistant’s relationships: with her body, with her mother, and with hunger. Our protagonist, Rachel, is an underling at a Hollywood talent agency. She has a history of anorexia and disordered eating, and she follows a specific set of eating rituals every day to maintain some semblance of control in her life. We learn that she…