Obesity and mental illness cause a constant struggle in Dolores Price's life, and the social and behavioral aspects of family, social network, socioeconomic status, and changing behavior play a vital role in the health problems you endure. She's Come Undone follows Dolores and her struggles with health and behavioral issues from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood. We first meet Dolores as a happy, carefree child, but when her father leaves Dolores and her mother unexpectedly, her life becomes a downward spiral of anger and depression. Consoling herself with binge eating, television, and smoking after being sexually abused by a neighbor, Dolores consistently rejects the love and care of her mother and grandmother and struggles with the social and behavioral difficulties of obesity and mental illnesses. When Dolores eventually suffers a nervous breakdown, she slowly begins to change her behavior to improve her physical and mental health. Family function plays a key role in Dolores' obesity. Family cohesion, adaptability, and family boundaries play a vital role in Dolores' health problems. Dolores has difficulty taking responsibility for her health and refuses to see a doctor for medical tests needed for college admissions. Ultimately it requires a forceful act on the part of her mother with "a steak knife in one hand, the unplugged television plug in the other" who will only repair Dolores' beloved television "when and if [you] have a visit medical" (121). Although Dolores insists that her mother must really hate her for asking her to undergo a medical examination, she is unaware of her mother and grandmother's function in the family as encouraging and providing medical services. The clash between... middle of the card... personal relationships with Dolores and further damage damage an already unstable family dynamic. Like Dolores, behavior change has also played a vital role in improving my personal health. Although Dolores' behavioral change extends in stages, ultimately it is one key event, a nervous breakdown due to the loss of her mother, the pressures of college, and the questioning of her identity that motivates Dolores to change her behavior. Similarly, my reckless behavior during adolescence regarding drug and alcohol use went through several phases, but it was one particular event that motivated my change. These parallel worlds made the book extremely meaningful because I could relate to particular situations and behavior change issues in a personal context. References: Lamb, Wally She's Come Undone Washington Square Press 1992