Category: Dear Diary

Before my illness, I was happy and healthy. I started to feel unwell in 2016 when I was 13 years old. My cognitive skills deteriorated, my physical health deteriorated, and I needed support to walk. I became incontinent, and soon I had all my abilities taken away from me. I...

Curating almost 900 posts into themed e-books you can keep close If you’ve been with me a while—some of you since 2008—you know Life Stories Diary has grown into a gathering place: for people living with eating disorders, for families and health professionals, for life story writing, and for anyone...

It is surprising how life can change. A storm, a diagnosis. Two years ago, I was driving on the motorway, torrential rain pouring down, making it hard to see anything. Summer and I were on our way home, following a specialist’s appointment, trying to figure out what was going on...

Why this relationship matters There are many kinds of relationships that steady a life: family, friends, cherished companions (including the furry ones). Then there are the few who become anchors for the work we feel called to do. For almost two decades, Professor Daniel Le Grange has been one of...

Home sweet home. The suitcase and backpack are back on their shelf; a Japanese cat magnet grins on the fridge. The weeping cherry in the front garden is bursting into blossom, and the cats—fresh from their holiday at the Cat Cave—are auditioning for extra snacks. Travel expands me, yes—and coming...

I am often asked if I plan to write another book.  My answer is, “No, I’m living my next chapter.”  Four years have passed since the publication of my memoir, The Longest Match: Rallying to Defeat an Eating Disorder in Midlife.  Now is a good time to write about that...

Recently, I looked through years and years of old family photographs. I’d seen these pictures before, but this time was different. I didn’t begin looking at them with my eating disorder in mind, but as I watched myself grow from an infant to a toddler to a schoolgirl to a...

I’m delighted to share that in a special event for Australia’s National Carers Week, Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV) will launch the exciting second edition of My Kid is Back. This well-loved publication has guided many families caring for a loved one with an eating disorder. It is full of stories from...

About six weeks from now, I will be 70 years old. 70! That feels like a big number, signifying that I have been on this planet for seven decades and entering the eighth. I can hardly believe it! I certainly don’t feel that old, whatever that means. Ten years ago...

For many years, anorexia was my protector. For many years, from age 11, I did not know I had an illness called anorexia. I mean, I thought I was me. Period. Sure, I’d been feeling very anxious about things happening around me; things beyond my control. And then what seemed...