--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Besides, I'd heard too many Karen…" description: "\"Besides, I'd heard too many Karen Carpenter tales at Gladstone PTA meetings, and they often took the form of boasts. The prestigious diagnosis of anore..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/lionel-shriver-744_anorexia_besides-i-d-heard-too-many-karen-carpent_2768088.jpg" --- # Besides, I'd heard too many Karen Carpenter tales at… ![“Besides, I'd heard too many Karen Carpenter tales at Gladstone PTA meetings, and they often took the form of boasts. The prestigious diagnosis of anorexia seemed much coveted not only by the students but by their mothers, who would compete over whose daughter ate less. No wonder the poor girls…” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/lionel-shriver-744_anorexia_besides-i-d-heard-too-many-karen-carpent_2768088.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/lionel-shriver-744_anorexia_besides-i-d-heard-too-many-karen-carpent_2768088.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/254/lionel-shriver-744_anorexia_besides-i-d-heard-too-many-karen-carpent_2768088.jpg) > “Besides, I'd heard too many Karen Carpenter tales at Gladstone PTA meetings, and they often took the form of boasts. The prestigious diagnosis of anorexia seemed much coveted not only by the students but by their mothers, who would compete over whose daughter ate less. No wonder the poor girls were a mess.” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Competitive pressures on body image create destructive cycles among adolescents and parents. **In simple terms:** Body image pressure is toxic. Key Takeaway Promote healthy self‑image. Themes body image competition adolescence Mood concerned serious Type social literary When to use this quote - school - family dynamics - social media - null Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can families break the dieting competition? - What role does media play? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anorexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anorexia/) [Boast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boast/) [Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenter/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gladstone/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Pta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pta/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“This is all-out, give-no-mercy warfare. The survival of civilization is at stake. What do we do now?” All eyes turned toward Meina Gladstone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-all-out-give-no-mercy-warfare-the-survival-of-civilization-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mr. Gladstone read Homer for fun, which I thought served him right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/mr-gladstone-read-homer-for-fun-which-i-thought-served-him-right/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/when-i-left-the-dining-room-after-sitting-next-to-mr-gladstone-i/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Disraeli was my favourite Tory. He was an adventurer pure and simple, or impure and complex. I'm glad to say Gladstone got the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-foot/disraeli-was-my-favourite-tory-he-was-an-adventurer-pure-and-simple/) [Michael Foot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-foot/) > [Posterity will do justice to that unprincipled maniac Gladstone - extraordinary mixture of envy, vindictiveness, hypocrisy and superstition; and with one commanding characteristic -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/posterity-will-do-justice-to-that-unprincipled-maniac-gladstone/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Why, sir, there is every probability that you will soon be able to tax it! Said to William Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/why-sir-there-is-every-probability-that-you-will-soon-be-able-to-tax/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [“Caring means cultivating the skills of an active listener. That is easier said than done, as an anecdote about the extraordinary social skills of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-deegan/caring-means-cultivating-the-skills-of-an-active-listener-that-is/) [Marian Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-deegan/) > [William Gladstone has not a single redeeming defect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/william-gladstone-has-not-a-single-redeeming-defect/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [There must be what Mr. Gladstone many years ago called a blessed act of oblivion. We must all turn our backs upon the horrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-must-be-what-mr-gladstone-many-years-ago-called-a-blessed-act/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The Queen has done all she could on the dreadful subject of vivisection, and hopes that Mr. Gladstone will speak strongly against such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-victoria/the-queen-has-done-all-she-could-on-the-dreadful-subject-of/) [Queen Victoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-victoria/) > [That is Gladstone, the greatest statesman that ever lived. I intend to be a statesman, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/that-is-gladstone-the-greatest-statesman-that-ever-lived-i-intend-to/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish Question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-sellar/british-prime-minister-william-ewart-gladstone-spent-his-declining/) [W. C. Sellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-sellar/) > [It was said that Mr. Gladstone could persuade most people of most things, and himself of anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-inge/it-was-said-that-mr-gladstone-could-persuade-most-people-of-most/) [Dean Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-inge/) > [I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-was-just-your-average-hockey-mom-and-signed-up-for-the-pta-because/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [If a theology student in lowa should get up at a PTA luncheon in Sioux City and attack the President's military policy, my guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/if-a-theology-student-in-lowa-should-get-up-at-a-pta-luncheon-in/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Anorexia quotes > [“Anorexia is, without doubt, a serious eating disorder, but there is a hell of a lot of mainstream disordered eating going on out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/anorexia-is-without-doubt-a-serious-eating-disorder-but-there-is-a/) [Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/) > [If we are ready to tear down the walls that confine us, break the cage that imprisons us, we will discover what our wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elmore-meegan/if-we-are-ready-to-tear-down-the-walls-that-confine-us-break-the-cage/) Michael Elmore-Meegan > [“Being constantly hungry is no life at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/being-constantly-hungry-is-no-life-at-all/) [Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/) > [“I’ve never had anorexia, but I know it well. I see it on the street, in the gaunt and sunken face, the boney chest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/i-ve-never-had-anorexia-but-i-know-it-well-i-see-it-on-the-street-in/) Harriet Brown > [“Between 10 and 20 percent of people with anorexia die from heart attacks, other complications and suicide; the disease has the highest mortality rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/between-10-and-20-percent-of-people-with-anorexia-die-from-heart/) Harriet Brown > [ “Emma cites the structure of the \[Eating Disorder\] Unit as being important to her decision to disengage from her illness, and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-lee/emma-cites-the-structure-of-the-eating-disorder-unit-as-being/) [Carol Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-lee/) > [I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don't realize you have it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-stirling/i-was-struggling-with-anorexia-and-one-of-the-biggest-problems-with/) [Lindsey Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-stirling/) > [Finding a cure for anorexia should be a piece of cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-elba/finding-a-cure-for-anorexia-should-be-a-piece-of-cake/) [Charles Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-elba/) > [“I know what you're thinking. ‘How the hell does this broke ass piece of trailer trash know words like caveat,’ right? Well guess what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isobel-irons/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-how-the-hell-does-this-broke-ass-piece-of/) [Isobel Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isobel-irons/) > [I wanted to kill the me underneath. That fact haunted my days and nights. When you realize you hate yourself so much, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wanted-to-kill-the-me-underneath-that-fact-haunted-my-days-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even with friends, I had difficulty giving or receiving physical affection, although I secretly craved it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-m-taylor/even-with-friends-i-had-difficulty-giving-or-receiving-physical/) Kate M. Taylor > [Man is never alone. Acknowledged or unacknowledged, that which dreams through him is always there to support him from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/man-is-never-alone-acknowledged-or-unacknowledged-that-which-dreams/) [Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I am forever engaged in a silent battle in my head over whether or not to lift the fork to my mouth, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-morrow/i-am-forever-engaged-in-a-silent-battle-in-my-head-over-whether-or/) Jena Morrow > [“Fooling the body into thinking it's full on only a thousand calories can be difficult. The trick is to chew the food until it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/fooling-the-body-into-thinking-it-s-full-on-only-a-thousand-calories/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) [Browse all 197 Anorexia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anorexia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Besides, I'd heard too many Karen Carpenter tales at Gladstone PTA meetings, and they often took the form of boasts. The prestigious diagnosis of anorexia seemed much coveted not only by the students but by their mothers, who would compete over whose daughter ate less. 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