Congratulations! Mazel Tov!  

To Liora and Kenny Sobel 
on the birth of their lovely daughter

Emily is an inspiration as she warms the hearts and brightens the lives of her immediate and extended family 
and graces the pages of the "Faces of Recovery" with her new mom!

My journey began about 20 years ago. I was a young teen, carrying emotions beyond my scope of understanding. I began to fear my body and its changes. Shame and fear haunted me. I began to restrict my food intake. At such a young age, my new behaviors and worsening mood became apparent to my family, friends and school teachers. They began to monitor my food intake and attempt to force me to eat. My sadness, shame, fear and frustration grew. Under such pressure, I began to engage in various methods of purging to expedite my weight loss and regain control from those trying to take it from me. At such a young age I could not comprehend the magnitude of what was happening to me and thus, what the next 20 years of my life would entail.

Within a couple of years my symptoms worsened and I was becoming medically unstable. I believed that this medical instability was proof of my success at my eating disorder, rather than something that was, literally, killing me. At 14 years of age, I was diagnosed with Anorexia – purging subtype. Treatment proved unsuccessful, as I fought back the efforts of medical professionals and family. At the time I had no idea that I would spend the majority of my teenage and early adult years in hospitals and treatment programs.

My endeavors were always to recover and live a fulfilling life, but this didn’t seem possible as I could not fully comprehend what I was running from. My eating disorder took over my life and anyone trying to help me became the enemy. I had times where I was very motivated to beat the eating disorder, but I continually relapsed. I was starting to believe recovery wasn’t possible for me.

But, I didn't give up hope…

A few years ago I hit a crossroads in my life. I felt it was ‘do or die’. I made my last attempt at recovery. I embarked on a journey to understand my complex feelings and begin to rebuild a relationship with my “true self”. I engaged in psychotherapy and mindfulness. I began to understand my 'self' and the pain I was running from. My relationship with my body began to improve and the more compassion I was able to develop for my self related to the improvements in my eating behaviors.

Today, I can truly state, “I am recovered”. My greatest dream of achieving happiness and fulfillment has come true. I have been able to live a life beyond anorexia and develop meaningful relationships because I have finally learned the greatest love in life; loving my self. I am proud to say that I now live my life with a very loving partner, our four fur babies and a very meaningful career. I live every moment to the fullest, thankful to be alive today and sharing my story. Recovery is possible. Never give up hope.

“There’s no such thing as a failure, coasting near the bottom is the only disgrace”
‘Just Wait’, by Blues Traveler