Pauline Ninck Blok
I moved to Italy in 2001, am originally Dutch, but was born in Africa and then lived in the Caribbean; as a child, my family moved around a lot. I have a degree in Italian language and literature. I freelance as an estate agent and as a translator. I am 46 years old and have two daughters. We love doing things together, like going to concerts, and travelling when possible. We have two dogs and a hamster. Even though I like living here, moving around is in my nature, so once my daughters are older, we might decide to move somewhere else. My youngest already says she can’t wait to move abroad, so we’ll just have to wait and see!
An ice cream is a ‘win’ when holidaying with an eating disorder
Almost a year has passed since Summer was diagnosed with her eating disorder (ED). I glimpse signs of recovery more often, but sometimes, we get thrown back into the darkness. The darkness doesn’t last as long now, though, before hope reappears. I know hope is always there despite being hard to see sometimes. Summer has..
“Write soon! Love always.” The benefits of friendships formed through letter writing
I thought everybody felt the same excitement as me when checking the letterbox for mail. But to my surprise, I discovered that many people feel stressed when opening their letterbox. This is because they expect to find bills. My experience is different. Over the past 38 years, I have received handwritten letters sprayed with perfume..
Moments of normalcy bring hope in the daily chaos of eating disorder recovery
Our life in survival mode continues. My daughter Summer and I have returned from another hospital admission and, like previously, are struggling to get back on track. The hospital admissions are always destabilising. We had hoped that a switch would magically turn in Summer’s head this time, but darkness remains. Summer is caught in a..
The ups and downs of a single mother caring for a child with anorexia
Our journey in the terrifying world of anorexia nervosa continues. We have roller-coasted over the past few months, and my daughter, Summer*, has turned 11. We have made some giant steps forward and a few small ones backward. The biggest one backward is being hospitalised again. Summer had been making some huge steps in her..
When a child develops anorexia, their family is plunged into the eating disorder world
It happened fast. Suddenly we were stuck in this black hole called anorexia nervosa. I had no idea how we’d gotten there so quickly, nor did I know how to get out. My 10-year-old (soon to be 11-year-old) daughter developed anorexia over the past year. Although she had probably already realised something was different inside..
Free - 'A Girl Called Tim' Podcast
In this free podcast, Dr June Alexander reads her memoir, written almost entirely from her diaries, which she began writing at the age of 12.
Dear Diary
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The diary, a book in which a daily record of events and personal experiences can be kept, offers a window into life in the past.
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