This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences on their own path to recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, or symptom use. Please use your own discretion. And speak with your therapist when needed.
by Liz Rognes, a former Emily Program client in recovery. She is a teacher, writer, and musician who lives in Spokane, WA.
A few years ago, when my second album was about to come out, a local alt-weekly wrote an article about me. Without my consent, the journalist included information in the article about my struggles with an eating disorder and drug and alcohol abuse. She included specific details that she found on a recovery blog I used to keep. The story she wrote had a narrative arc that was about a queer girl who hit rock bottom, overcame bulimia and addiction, and then turned it all into music. It didn’t paint me in a negative light, exactly, and she did also write nice things about my music, but the inclusion of my struggles from the past in someone else’s words, without warning, shocked me. It was worded in such a way that it sounded like I had shared that information with her in an interview, but I had not. I had not disclosed any information about my history of bulimia or addiction with her, and I struggled to understand why she had included it.