Groman - Better is not so far away : decide to recover from bingeing, starving or cutting

Copyright 2015 by Melissa Groman. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-184085-9
MHID: 0-07-184085-0

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-184084-2, MHID: 0-07-184084-2.

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For all of the young women who have braved
and do brave my couch.

Yes you can. And you are.

.

THE WRITING of this book has been a gift. Though the writing journey was mine alone, as with most good projects, I could not possibly have kept at it without the love, work, support, and/or ideas of the following people. My deepest thanks:

To Lynne Klippel for your good advice, encouragement, and enthusiasm for publishing.

To Charlotte Friedlander, Madeleine Eno, and Gwen Hoffnagle, for your expert assistance in shaping the manuscript.

To my advance readers for your spot-on feedback and for your enthusiasm, fast work, and dedication to the field of eating disorder work.

To eating disorder, addiction, and self-injury therapists, nutritionists, physicians, mentors, and sponsors for all the work that you do day in and day out, for staying the course, advocating for wellness, spreading the message, and being part of a strong, collective effort to transform lives.

To all of the young women who have shared their pain and their stories with me and braved my couch. Thank you for showing up, opening up, and forging forward with me.

To those who have recovered and those who are in recovery who continue to tell your stories. For your hope, your strength, and your courage and for being unarguable living proof that recovery is possible.

To SG for your art and your artistic input, perseverance, and enthusiasm.

To Esther Zlotnik for being the first to see my words and offering your candid and gentle feedback. Thank you for being you and for being on this and many other journeys with me.

To Janet Rosen for your good agenting, good humor, and belief in this project.

To Kathy Keil, for your expert editing and for believing in the message and in my voice and for taking on this project. And to Nancy Hall for your good guidance and for making the journey so smooth.

To Amy Lipsey, Miriam Lemerman, and Susan Saunders for showing up again and again and for your encouragement, candid feedback, and emotional honesty. And to all the good folks at The Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis (ACAP) in Livingston, New Jersey, for your unwavering dedication to the study and betterment of emotional health and relationships and for your expert training.

To Dr. Vicki Semel, Dr. Roger Lope, Rosanna Murray, and Marcia Pumilia for your wisdom, professionalism, integrity, and staying power, as well as your support, direction, and good ideas. And for modeling patience for process and for helping me to clear away the clutter and learn to hear and trust my good instincts.

To my Friday morning womens group for sharing your stories, your foibles, your humor, and your willingness to work on yourselves with gentle but rigorous honesty and for helping me to do the same. I am continuously awed by the power of togetherness, acceptance, recovery, and love as well as by your wisdom. And for being a constant reminder that there is most always relief when we live in the solution.

To Liz Diamond, Priscilla Mahr, Chaya Sora Mendlowitz, Lori P., Sarah Schiffman, Fran Schumer, and Yael Zoldan for your wisdom, candor, always good ears, good humor, and good hearts and for bringing me back to God, to myself, and to whats real and whats not realtime and time again.

To T., once known as Calamity Jane. For your inspiration, insights, bravery, consistency, honesty, and persistence. Not to mention your loveliness, ideas, good humor, art, and countless hours of effort on all fronts. Its really your book too.