Mental Holocaust

I am currently reading Healthy Selfitude by NORMAL President Robyn Hussa and this month I am more aware of the shift toward mindfulness but also realize that as an African American that grew up in the Protestant church how foreign this concept may come across. I would like to speak to you as you consider [...]

Thank you Eve Ensler

Dear Mr. Akin, I Want You to Imagine… Posted: 08/20/2012 4:08 pm re-posted from HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/todd-akin-rape_b_1812930.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false Dear Todd Akin, I am writing to you tonight about rape. It is 2 AM and I am unable to sleep here in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am in Bukavu at the City of Joy to serve [...]

Our walls of “perfect” bodies need to come down…

Graciously re-posted from Gurze Publications:  A while back, Tom and I took our spring break to travel to the East coast and present Andrea’s Voice where we were invited. We spoke to packed rooms, evidence of the desire for more information on eating disorders. After speaking at a university in New York, I received an [...]

Role Models Help Us Shape Identity

Dedicated in loving memory to Mizzar, I thought I’d share a post about an important role model in my life.  An 80-something voice teacher with whom I had the privilege of studying for 7 years.  The way in which this mentor appeared in my life, is as important as her role … Blog this!Bookmark on [...]

ED 101 — A Film About Eating Disorders

This is our first post from Robyn Hussa, President of Normal in Schools (NIS). She started NIS driven to bring to our schools education about eating disorder through theater (or as Robyn would say “theatre” but I’m not so hip to the art scene). We all think we know everything about eating disorders, after all we are suffers, [...]

If only I could have been this 16 year old

Meet Andre’a. A 16 year old girl who reached out to me and asked me to watch her video. As I watched, I kept thinking about why some of us seem to be naturally confident, self assured and acceptant of themselves, while the vast majority linger around in self loathing for a lifetime. So is [...]

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Inspired by the post by Kim at Adventures in Wanting last week, I wanted to further explore a topic she proposed that I found very interesting. She essentially asked – knowing what you know now, if you could go back in time and talk to the young version of yourself, what would you say? That [...]

How I married a sex addict, and other symptoms of swine flu

First some disclaimers. This is my story. Mine, Mine, Mine. I’m writing it because, that’s what I do. I write. I share my life. It’s how I have learned to cope. And keeping this secret for as long as I have has done incredible damage to me. It’s time to come clean, not just for [...]

Why Lady Gaga Is A Role Model for Girls

We’re all about original content at WeAretheRealDeal. But when I saw this post on Facebook (via Courtney Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters, which I reviewed here), I couldn’t help but share this kick-ass article by Lilly @ RachelSimmons.com.

I am Jane…still…and that’s okay

Last month I saw the debut of the new Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva. I was so moved by it that I simply had to blog about it with a post titled “I am Jane”. (Because when I blog I bring my thoughts into focus. It is very empowering. But I digress.) The show, and [...]