love our bodies, love ourselves

September 8, 1998 I have come a long way since the first day we met. I don’t need you nearly as much as I did before, and that’s a good thing. For so long I have hated you, and now the hate has lessened. I think I am beginning to understand you and why I … Read More

She leaned in eyes wild and body tense. “Tell me,” she said, her halting words revealing the desperation within. “Tell me what I need to do to prevent my child from having an eating disorder?” Having met with so many mothers this was not an unfamiliar question. I sighed, for I knew how badly she … Read More

We live in a world that enforces a message into every aspect of our being that we are not enough. We see it on the television, we read it in magazines, we live amongst stereotypes and have deeply embedded belief systems that strengthen the message. Sometimes the message can be helpful as it pushes us … Read More

It’s been quite a few years since my own personal journey into recovery from an eating disorder (anorexia), although I still clearly remember the days when exercise was a compulsive activity. It was exhausting to push my body hard in the gym on so little energy and it was also mentally draining to constantly feel … Read More

Lately I’ve been preoccupied with wanting to do something adventurous. Move across country, travel, do something totally out of my comfort level. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in the same city for twenty years, and a lot of my close friends have already gone on adventures or are planning to. It’s interesting the way our … Read More

As parents of a 28 yr. old who has been suffering with Anorexia and Bulimia for over 13 years, my husband and I have done everything possible – emotionally, physically and financially to provide and help our daughter. And it is never enough. Our experiences of helplessness, frustration and ultimately anger fuelled me to want … Read More

I remember the moment I found out I was having a daughter. My mind went to a million places: how am I going to raise a girl, how am I going to keep the boys away, how am I going to afford her? Most of all, I knew she would have to deal with a … Read More

Rising at our seats during Chorus Practice in the elementary school auditorium, a girl whom- for all intents and purposes I considered “popular”- turned to me and said, “Jennifer, do you think you’re pretty?” I paused for a moment and considered her motives- had this been pre-meditated? Was it a trap? Was she mocking me? … Read More