National Eating Disorders Association

Hi! My name is Adrienne and on October 13th, 2018 I will be running the Hartford Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) in Hartford Connecticut to raise awareness and funds for a charity that fights everyday for people like...me. Who am I? Well.......

I'm a Runner. I'm also a mother, daughter, sister, friend....oh and....I'm an anorexic. I say that in the present tense because eating disorders aren't just something you once had but are now recovered from. They are diseases you always carry with you, even after recovery. My battle has been long and hard. It's been filled with loss, fear, pain, frustration, danger, steps forward and steps back. There is no one way to beat an eating disorder but for ME, two things helped pave my path to recovery:

One: I LOVE to run and I could no longer run. Not the way I used to anyway. Anorexia stole something that had brought me so much joy and vibrance and health for so many years. Running had been my Church for 21 years and then....I could no longer go to church. The disease stole my body and now had stolen my faith, my soul, my passion. UNACCEPTABLE.

Two: A dear (amazingly best) friend and I traveled to Utah last May. On our journey we became close with an absolutely wonderful couple from Australia who, as it happened, have a teenage daughter who is an anorexic, and who's fight with the disease had become dire. I was in the depths of my fight at the time as well and hearing the story of this little girl, who was fighting so hard, fueled a determination in me to fight harder. To fight for her. To fight for me. To fight for every little girl who cant just #eatthecake. To fight for every mother who's had to sit in her car crying for an hour because she knows she doesn't have the strength to get out, walk to the backdoor and lift her 4 year old out of his carseat. To fight for every single man, woman and child who have ever looked in the mirror and heard the lies and the hate that this vicious disease shouts. UNACCEPTABLE.

So I did fight. Hard. And I got stronger. And I ran. And then I ran more. And I realized #foodisfuel. And I used my passion for a plant based diet to learn everything I could about truly fueling my body. And today I can say that yes, I am an anorexic, but I am now an anorexic who has entered recovery! 

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. Their website can be found here:
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/about-us/our-work

PLEASE consider donating $13.01, $130.01 or hey...$1,300.01 to this amazing group! And if you would consider sharing this link I would be very very grateful. 

And if you're in Connecticut on the 13th....meet me at the finish line. And bring #cake.

This is a one act play for the purpose of raising eating disorder awareness and money for NEDA. The suggested donation is instead of an admission price. It's $10.00 per ticket, but anything helps!

Friends, I am on mission to raise at least $4,000 for the National Eating Disorder Association by July 9th.

The National Eating Disorder Association is a not-for-profit organization that supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders, and serves as a catalyst for prevention, cures, and access to quality care. In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life. In fact, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.There is a significant lack of funding to combat eating disorders and their devastating consequences. As a result, too many individuals and families are left feeling helpless, hopeless, and frightened.

When I was in the midst of my eating disorder, I utilized the many resources the NEDA has to offer including their online screening and their helpline. I spent many nights on the phone with their trained volunteers, so lost, but so grateful to have someone that was there to listen. Since I was unable to afford specialized treatment, the resources the NEDA offered played a large role in my recovery and ultimately saving my life. Today, I am happier, healthier, and, like the NEDA, envision a world without eating disorders.

You can go to www.nationaleatingdisorders.org and check out some of their resources.