Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0001-7291-5056

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Abstract

In 1996, the author published “A Secret Life in a Culture of Thinness: Reflections on Body, Food, and Bulimia” (Tillmann-Healy, 1996), an account of her struggle with binging and purging from ages 15 to 25. She came to understand bulimia as a communicative act, expressing fear, anxiety, and grief. From 25 to 35, her recovery from bulimia involved learning to “purge” emotion through other forms of communication (e.g., dialogue, writing, and teaching). At 35, separation and divorce pose the greatest challenge to the author’s 10-year recovery, yet she does not return to bulimic expression. This article invites readers to sense and feel pathways in, through, and out of unhealthy relationships with our bodies and ourselves.

Publication Title

Journal of Applied Communication Research

ISSN

0090-9882

DOI

10.1080/00909880802592615

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