June Alexander: Recovery as an adult, and writing.
This week I talk to June Alexander, who was in her fifties when she fully recovered from long-term anorexia. June's personal bio: I love sharing my writing passion by helping people with eating disorder experience to tell their stories. I believe everyone has a story to tell and the way it is told makes all the difference. When you have had, or have an illness, the story creation process can help you to see that your life counts because it involves being an observer as well as participant of your experiences. I offer guidance and mentoring in achieving these outcomes. Following a long newspaper career as reporter, sub-editor and editor, I wrote my memoir, which explores the effect of developing restrictive anorexia nervosa at age 11, and how this severe illness shaped my life. This led to a further nine books on eating disorders and a PhD in Creative Writing, focusing on the therapeutic value of non-fiction writing in recovery. I run group workshops and work privately with individuals to record their narratives. I aim to and inspire hope at every age through story-telling. My website, The Diary Healer , which includes a weekly blog, delves more deeply into this aspect of my work. I offer a wealth of insight and wisdom and know what it means to experience and heal from an eating disorder and other traumas. My story-telling work has achieved global recognition, winning the Academy for Eating Disorders’ 2016 Meehan-Hartley Advocacy Award for public service and advocacy in the eating disorder field. I serve on national and international organisations in the mental health field and my mantra is ”there is hope at every age”. I live in Australia and am the proud mother of four children and grandmother to five children, and share my home with Norah Cat.