“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” – Genesis 50:20

Friday, July 11, 2014

Role Models

During my earlier recovery days, and still now, I really enjoyed looking up celebrities and others in the public eye who had struggled with and overcome eating disorders and I was in hog heaven when I could find a memoir from one. Here are my favorite recovery warriors:

 
Tracey Gold struggled battled anorexia twice in her life and the second time almost lost her battle. Her book "Room to Grow: An Appetite for Life" is one of my favorites and I've read it many times.
 
 
Jennifer Kirk is a retired competitive figure skater. She won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in 2000 and quit competitive skating a year before her Olympic circuit to get her eating disorder under control. I can't recall for certain which type she had. Now she is an advocate for eating disorder awareness and healthy body image. She has several self-help videos on her Youtube channel that I really like and has responded to me both via Facebook and email. She's such a sweetheart. I was going to link her channel here but I can't seem to find it. I asked her about it and if I can get to the videos I'll post them because they're awesome.
 
 
Demi Lovato has kind of become the poster-child for mental illness awareness lately and I think she's been doing a great job! Not too long ago, Demi came out about her struggles with bulimia, self-injury, and bipolar disorder. Now she's constantly in the spotlight promoting positive body image and loving yourself just the way you are. She doesn't have a book out yet that I know of but she definitely needs to write one!
 
 
 
This young lady isn't in the spotlight much and her battle with anorexia wasn't a huge public thing but I still really enjoy her story and the way she goes about life today. Miss Scarlett Pomers tells her story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMHBzEsNDI4
 
 
While I don't necessarily agree with a lot of the choices Portia de Rossi makes in her life, her story of recovery is inspiring. I haven't yet finished her book "Unbearable Lightness" but while it's good and very honest, it is more triggering than Tracey's because of the amount of details and the way it's written so just be mindful of that if you decide to pick it up. She shares her story on "Ellen" here (it's in two parts): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Sl7L3MzQo
 
 
Those are just a few of the ladies I've looked up who have shared their stories of illness and recovery. A few others I know are on the list but either there isn't much out there about that part of their lives or I just haven't looked into them much are:
 
  • Kellie Martin (actress, "Christy")
  • Candace Cameron (actress, "Full House")
  • Wynonna Judd (singer)
  • Dana Delaney (actress)
  • Princess Diana (late ex-wife of Prince Charles)
  • Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi (reality tv star, "Jersey Shore")
  • Brittany Snow (actress, "Hairspray")
  • Kelly Clarkson (singer, American Idol winner)
  • Katie Couric (talk show host, tv journalist)
  • Danielle Fishel (actress, "Boy Meets World")
  • Paula Abdul (singer, former American Idol judge)
  • Jessica Alba (actress, "Fantastic Four")
  • Kate Winslet (actress, "Titanic")
  • Amanda Beard (US Olympic swimmer)
  • Nadia Comaneci (Russian Olympic gymnast)
  • Kathy Rigby (US Olympic gymnast)
The last person I'd like to share makes it in my list as a warrior because of all she does to promote awareness and all the time she spends helping those of us who struggle. Kati Morton is a licensed therapist out of Los Angeles, California who specializes in eating disorders. She's also the head of a huge online community of those battling eating disorders, self-harm, and other mental illnesses. She puts out videos 5 days a week on various topics and has a website, complete with forums to talk with others who share our struggles and free workbooks you can download for self-harm and eating disorders. Her Youtube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/KatiMorton and her website is katimorton.com

 
 
Which recovery warriors inspire you?

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