Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
The benefits of exploring identity through diary writing practice
I am like a dinosaur when it comes to diary writing. I have kept a diary since childhood. I’m now 72. The diary is part of me. Why? Early this week I was conversing with daughter Amanda, 46, about my..
An epiphany at 72 – it is never too late to be fully you
My birthdays have often been a non-event. However, an epiphany has marked my latest milestone. Yesterday, surrounded by five grandchildren and their parents lustily singing Happy Birthday, I felt overwhelmed by a sudden, deeper freedom to experience the moment. I..
Parenting with an eating disorder
I am a mom with an eating disorder. Those were once difficult words for me to say out loud. There is a myth that anorexia nervosa (AN) is only an adolescent disorder. The truth is, 13 per cent of American..
Redirecting eating disorder experience into advocacy helps to maintain recovery
For years I said, ‘I won’t know who I am, without my eating disorder.’ I was fearful of recovery because the eating disorder dominated my identity. If you feel this same way, I’ve good news. I recovered from anorexia nervosa..
Understanding the healing power and teaching potential of daily diary-writing
Six months after developing anorexia nervosa, at age 11, I received a diary as a Christmas gift. The diary and I became inseparable. Nobody told me to write or gave guidance in what to write. I just did. More than..
Grandmother’s diaries inspire a novel eating disorder story about childhood and hope
In August 2020, as the world became immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic, I began a journey to recover from an eating disorder. This was a journey I never expected to be on; I assumed that at age 64, my life..
June Alexander in podcast with Karin Lewis on eating disorder recovery and the diary
A podcast with eating disorder therapist Karin Lewis tells of how a love of writing and family helped me to forge a life of my own, beyond a 44-year battle with anorexia nervosa. As background to the podcast interview, Karin invited me to..
In the waiting room, there was a horse
At the age of 14, in my first attempt to reclaim my life from the grips of undiagnosed Anorexia Nervosa (AN), I was incredibly driven and intrinsically motivated. Today, at age 37, I am proud of that young woman who..
The power of story-telling and why your story counts
Feeling misunderstood is one of the most difficult and emotionally painful aspects when experiencing an eating disorder. My parents and sister, after decades of witnessing behaviours driven by my illness, gave up trying to understand me. Do I blame them?..
The healing power in writing your memoir
So you want to write your memoir? A memoir is a story about part of your life. Memoir-writing can also be a great self-healer. As a mentor for memoir-writing, I explain the creation of your story can be a three-stage process,..