Seconds to Snap One Explosive Day. A Family Destroyed. My Descent into Anorexia.

"I can tell you exactly the day it all went wrong—the day my mum attacked my dad with a kitchen knife. In those few, short seconds, a black hole opened up in my life and I fell right in."

Tina McGuff’s life was perfect – or so she thought. Living in Dundee with her devoted parents and three younger sisters, she was a happy, healthy, and confident 13-year-old. But all that changed in one horrifying act of revenge, and Tina’s world collapsed overnight. Terrified, lost, and confused, she turned to the one thing she thought she could control—food. And so began the biggest fight of her life. Tina’s life-or-death struggle with anorexia is told with devastating honesty in this extraordinary account of a girl at war with herself. Through her years in and out of psychiatric wards, Tina takes us to some of the darkest places of the mind. But in the end her courage, conviction, and sheer determination win out. It took Tina seconds to snap and a lifetime to recover—but today, as a passionate campaigner for mental health, she is living proof that there is always a reason to hope that one day, things will get better.

Tina McGuff experienced a very violent event and descended into anorexia from 13 years old and almost lost her life. After a very successful 20 years, raising children, learning to fly, and promoting huge bands like Biffy Clyro and Snow Patrol, she is now an ardent mental health campaigner. Tina works full time in an accounts team and also guest lectures to student nurses regarding anorexia and psychosis. Katy Weitz is a ghostwriter and has been lucky enough to work with people including Josefina Rivera, Kathleen O'Shea, Tressa Middleton, Tina Davis, and Annabelle Forest. Before turning to books, Katy was a national newspaper journalist for 10 years.