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Searching for Full

How GLP-1s Changed My Eating Disordered Life

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Pub Date Jan 12 2027 | Archive Date Oct 19 2026


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Description

After years of failed treatment for her bulimia, Paige Gordon took a GLP-1 medication. She didn’t lose weight. She lost her compulsions.

Paige binged for the first time when she was 11 and for years afterward, didn’t look back. It wasn’t that overeating made her feel better; she was simply ravenous. All the time. As she got older, that feeling of constant hunger didn’t go away, but the feeling that accompanied it—shame—grew stronger. So she developed a new habit to go with the bingeing: purging. And once she started, nothing could make her stop, not therapy, Prozac, various inpatient programs, nor any other traditional treatment. And certainly not the love of the many men—good, flawed, or violent—she met along the way.

Part confessional memoir and part exploration of the science surrounding GLP-1s and disordered eating, Searching for Full: How GLP-1s Changed My Eating Disordered Life is a wry, no-holds-barred account of a life shaped by bingeing and purging—until GLP-1s changed everything. It’s a story of a life shaped by bulimia; a girl with negligent and eventually absentee parents; of the love she tried to find elsewhere; of seeking control and finding only pain. But one day, 30 years into living with her disorder, Paige heard a podcast about GLP-1s and how they could turn off the “food noise” in your head. And that’s when her journey truly began. As an advocate and activist, Paige is sharing her personal experience in the hopes of changing the system and broadening research into underlying causes and innovative treatments for eating disorders. 

After years of failed treatment for her bulimia, Paige Gordon took a GLP-1 medication. She didn’t lose weight. She lost her compulsions.

Paige binged for the first time when she was 11 and for years...


Advance Praise

“Fearless, incisive, and deeply moving. With remarkable candor, she invites readers into the lived reality of eating disorders: the private negotiations, the contradictions, the quiet suffering that so often remains unseen. Her writing is both intellectually sharp and profoundly human, illuminating the complex terrain of recovery with honesty and courage. This is the kind of book that helps people feel seen, understood, and less alone, and that alone makes it invaluable.”

—Yvonne Castañeda, LICSW, author of Pork Belly Tacos with a Side of Anxiety


“Paige Gordon’s writing is a vulnerable and valiant invitation to sit with her on the cold tile as she pleads to a porcelain confessional for hope and healing. As a reader who once feared the insecurity and instability of my own bulimia, this memoir was a mirror that helped me see my hunger in a way I never have. Searching for Full is daring and sometimes devastating, but just as Paige brought us down to the floor beside her, she also holds our hand as we stand up — together.”

—Bridey Thelen-Heidel, author of Bright Eyes


“Writing with crisp prose and a propulsive pace, Paige takes us through her 22-year battle with bulimia. Gordon’s writing is raw and honest and although she doesn’t shy away from the darkness, she illuminates her suffering without painting herself as a victim. As the bulimia fades and the chatter silences, she finds her voice. A voice she uses as a call to action to pursue research and expand treatment for those still suffering with bulimia. This book will resonate with anyone who has struggled with the constant chatter of any addiction.”

—Andrea Leeb, USA Today best-selling author of Such A Pretty Picture


“A heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful story of trauma and addiction packed with sardonic, insightful humor and clever use of similes. One hopes that Gordon’s groundbreaking personal discovery and advocacy will add to the growing body of research about the potential use of GLP drugs for addiction and binge eating disorders. An important and timely read.”

—Wendy B. Correa, author of My Pretty Baby


“It’s a privilege to peer into Paige’s life, memories she shares authentically and with some levity. She shows us the ways trauma and an eating disorder can warp the biggest parts of our lives, the determination that patients and loved ones currently need to find better solutions and care, and how our health care and medical research systems need to evolve so that eating disorders can be fully understood and met with effective and compassionate care.”

—Jessica Scheer, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association

“Fearless, incisive, and deeply moving. With remarkable candor, she invites readers into the lived reality of eating disorders: the private negotiations, the contradictions, the quiet suffering that...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9798896364344
PRICE $18.99 (USD)
PAGES 256

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BISAC Codes

SEL014000 SELF-HELP / Eating Disorders & Body Image
BIO026000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
FAM051000 FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Dating

Average rating from 4 members


Featured Reviews

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Paige Gordon's memoir "Searching for Full" is a tour de force from start to finish.

For most of my life, I didn't know exactly what the phrase "tour de force" meant, but I loved the ring of it!

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "tour de force" as "a feat or display of strength, skill, or ingenuity," which is exactly what Paige Gordon has done in writing this groundbreaking book.

"Searching for Full" is riveting, searingly honest, lyrical, instructive, shocking, and inspiring.
Far from saccharine, the book offers a reckoning with the many dimensions of Paige’s life—her struggles, contradictions, revelations, and joys.

Memoir is my favorite genre, and I'm very selective about the memoirs I read.
I chose to read "Searching for Full" after watching Paige and Dr. Michael Lutter share their insights as featured guests on Dr. Bret Scher’s
Metabolic Mind podcast. Dr. Lutter is a leading psychiatrist and researcher in the field of GLP-1 treatment for eating disorders; he was among the doctors who contributed to the foreword of "Searching for Full."

I have dealt with binge eating disorder and bipolar disorder for decades, and I was particularly interested in what Paige shared about binge eating disorder. While I cannot take a GLP-1 because I take a MAOI medication, I found Paige's book to be deeply meaningful and relevant to my life.

At 56, I've had many friends suffer from the stigmatized eating disorders of anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia over the years. I've had friends endure domestic abuse, and I've been affected by domestic abuse as well. As Paige revealed her private hardships with eating disorders and trauma behind her outward successes, I was moved by her willingness to be authentic.

I'm thrilled that I can refer this extraordinary book to everyone I know. It's in a class all its own; "Searching for Full" will transform and save lives.

This remarkable memoir has already profoundly helped one life for certain: my own.

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Searching for Full by Paige Gordon is an honest and powerful memoir about the author's long struggle with bulimia and how GLP-1 medication changed her relationship with food. The book explores addiction, trauma, and recovery while also raising important questions about new treatments for eating disorders. Overall, it is a raw, eye-opening, and hopeful story.

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