This Is TASTE 753: On Eating and Not Eating with Amber Husain
Apr 1, 2026
Amber Husain, a London-based writer and author of Tell Me How You Eat, explores recovery from anorexia alongside history and politics of eating. She talks about researching surprising histories, veganism as a political lightning rod, how food signals group identity, and the role of psychedelic-assisted therapy in recovery. The conversation also touches on fiction, writing habits, and favorite London restaurants.
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Eating Problems Stem From Moralized Individualism
- Eating problems often come from isolating moral narratives about diets rather than individual pathology.
- Amber Husain reframed eating by rooting food in social and historical contexts, which helped make eating feel possible again.
Recovery Through Excavating Personal Cultural Influences
- Amber describes recovering from anorexia by shifting from individualized rules to historically rooted eating practices.
- She used diaries, bookshelves, and academic influences (Eleanor Marx, Simone Weil, Nigella Lawson) to reconstruct what helped her eat.
Eating Practices Shape Political Imaginations
- The book is structured as essays exploring fasting, restrictive diets, feasting, binging, and feeding as political and emotional acts.
- Each essay uses varied examples to show when meals are liberating versus oppressive and how eating reshapes social worlds.
