Round two

Wow. It has been a long, long time since I last blogged. The good news is that my manuscript is finished. The not so good news is that my agent is still shopping it around, and looking for a publisher to grab it. In the meantime, I thought it was a great idea to start a new blog. I had some encouragement from some ultra cool people on this.

For those of you who don't know, my manuscript is my life story. More than that, it's a look at recovery from an eating disorder and a look at addiction in general. Sometimes it seems incredibly difficult to be a part of the world, and while there's no pill, cure or grand plan for recovery from addiction, there is hope.

Diane Israel, the creator of the film, Beauty Mark, and I sometimes do some radio interviews and public speaking on eating disorders. I love Diane. We're like twins in the way we have gone through life- both world class athletes who struggled with eating disorders that nearly killed us. About a month ago I ran into her on the trails. I was limping around on a stress fracture, and she was having some hormonal issues. I had to laugh, because I still sometimes fight it. She and I both do. And we both still suffer from some of the longer lasting effects of having an eating disorder. After that, I decided to take real time off to allow my foot to heal, and Diane went to see a Dr. about her hormone imbalance. While I often feel completely recovered from this eating stuff, I also sense it lurking. This time around I have choices though. It wasn't like that in the past.

I'm keeping this first post short. When I look back on all I've been through, I have to say, "Wow, what a ride." I see so many people struggling these days. The world seems to be more chaotic than ever, and the news gets stranger and stranger on a daily basis. It's essential for me to keep sight of those who can offer support and have a sense of humor. Sometimes my best therapy is getting wrapped up in a conversation with a friend or listening to some sweet music.

Because I have been to Hell and back with my eating disorder and other challenges after that, I feel it's almost my duty to offer help in the form of experience to anyone else out there struggling. Diane always brings up the shame and embarrassment that surrounds an eating disorder. It shouldn't be that way. I see it more as a way that someone chose to cope. Something got so out of hand that controlling food seemed an appropriate response. But it doesn't work long term. If I can offer anyone anything, it would be that finding new coping mechanisms doesn't have to be painful and hard. I hope my book can offer some guidelines and suggestions on how to better cope with the stresses that can lead a person down such a destructive path.

Hey, I almost forgot. I'm Lize, and this is my shiny new blog! Woot!!  :)