Eating Disorders & Young Literature

Writers have power. We hold the ability to point out wrongs in the world and work out ways to make them right through our stories. Using good or positive efforts of a character can also bring real life to the forefront. Our interpretation of reality can influence opinions. We can motivate. But all scenarios we consider to include in our fiction come with responsibility. 
I have a soft spot for kidlit, as you already know. That's what I do. That's what I write. The offbeat, quirky, or aloof character with a special talent aka paranormal, naturalistic, or magical is what attracts my heart the most. 
This past summer I began searching the deepest parts of my passion for writing, why I love the creepy and strange over the contemporary or normal - whatever normal really means. I discovered that any characteristic with the spice of supernatural feels safer to me, like tapping into the emotional reality of a contemporary situation would be any different. #Snort ... But for some odd reason, my brain and heart saw it that way. 

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That revelation moved me to a place inside myself that, I know now, had been waiting to be released for a long time. Though creating characters with otherworldly issues will always be a love of mine, I decided to take the life's journey of a character I'd had in my heart forever and give her her due. I spent the next three months mapping out a contemporary young adult story, fully outlining each and every chapter, and completing a full-length synopsis.
This story is real life. It's very dear and close to my heart. It's fiction, but some of its scenes have been inspired by my life as a teenager. And that's what leads me to my true purpose today: raising awareness for eating disorders. 
February is Eating Disorder Awareness Month. It's a plague of mind, body, and soul that can touch anyone at any age, but most prevalent among tweens, teens, and college students, who are still trying to discover who they are, who they are supposed to become, and where they fit into their world. For us writers that's middle grade, young adult, and new adult fiction. 
Last year, I provided links to sites where you can find out more about the truth behind eating disorders, how people use them to cope with life-out-of-control. You can find those HERE. But this year, I'll leave you with the blurb I created for that YA contemporary story I mentioned above that I'm currently writing.

Seventeen-year-old Carly Foster learned early in life to keep her emotions hidden. Weighed down by the instability of her mother’s severe depression, she exists behind a wall of ginger smiles and loyal school work, the ability to feel dulled and numb. Her only reprieve is dance, where the safety of rhythm and movement free her to feel.

Liam Blake moves into town in a raging storm of aloofness, yet stalked by the popular crowd like a celebrity. His ‘rich boy’ status is in total contrast with his disheveled leather jacket and grimy baseball cap. Carly finds him rude, always staring at her but never saying a word. Though strange, his attention awakens a longing in her heart, which frightens her. So when an offer to study dance through a prestigious program, she clenches on to her Liam distraction and chance to escape her family pain. But then her mother is diagnosed with a physically debilitating disease, forcing Carly to abandon her dreams. 

Crushed beneath the gravity of it all, Carly spirals, plummeting off a ledge of self-destructive anorexia and drug use that sets the stage for a dangerous night she may never recover from. And, for reasons Carlie is still unaware of, Liam is the only one able to catch her … if she’ll let him.

My hope is in sharing even a glimpse of my experience with eating disorders through fiction, I'll inspire at least one young person to discover that they are stronger than their problems.