To My Darling Daughter, Rock the Bikini & Forget the Rest
To my darling baby girl, Today, I watched you splash and play in your new bikini. You were so thrilled to be in the water and never thought twice about your body or bathing suit. I said a silent prayer today that you will always have that joy and twinkle in your eye. I pray […]
Dear Anti-Diet Community, Be NICE!
To my dearest anti-diet community, I get it. I totally get that every diet post, cleanse, and celebrity detox makes your skin crawl. I. GET. IT. I’m on your team, but I am not behind the shame storm that happens when someone decides to go on a diet or change their eating habits. Recently, I awoke […]
Dearest Lorelei, Forget the World and Find Your Tribe
Lorelei splashed in the tub as I gently washed the shampoo from her curly hair. She is the first born of one of my dearest and oldest friends, Katherine. I spent the week with them during my Chattanooga speaking tour. “My curls are tiny!” Five-year old Lorelei exclaimed. “Some people have bigger curls and some people […]
Feeling Fat on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day. And I feel fat. Gasp. How could McCall Manning Dempsey, a positive body image speaker, feel fat? Oh the horror! Well, folks. We all have our days. But here is the difference. I know that fat isn’t a feeling and that when I start thinking and having anxiety about my […]
An Open Letter to Lady Gaga’s Belly Roll
Dearest Lady Gaga’s Belly Roll, You are causing quite the stir in the social media stratosphere after Sunday’s spectacular Super Bowl Performance. But, if I’m being honest here, I didn’t notice you. I’m so sorry. I completely overlooked your big debut because I was entranced by the performance. To my shock and dismay, Monday’s news […]
How to Avoid the Freshman 15
The signature Wal-Mart yellow face smiled down on my mom and me as we slowly pushed our buggy through the back to school aisles. I was just a few weeks away from moving out and into my college dorm at Ole Miss. Most freshman fear the move away from home, making friends or getting into a […]
A Transgender, Lesbian and Sorority Girl Walk into a Bar
…they sat down, ordered a beer and started reminiscing on the good ole days. This was last weekend for me, at the wedding of one of my dearest and oldest camp friends. Camp Green Cove has connected me with the most extraordinary people on earth. We come from different walks of life and wear different […]
My Husband Saw Me Naked
[Guest Blog for Jacksonville Mom Blog] Soapy suds ran down my naked body in the shower. I closed my eyes in an attempt at one minute of peace in my whirlwind life as a working mom with two babies. No such luck. “Honey,” my husband yelled as he swung open the bathroom door holding Marjorie. […]
Why I Thank God for My Eating Disorder
The buttered bagel sat on my car’s console. I stared at it with tears streaming down my face. The tears had nothing to do with the bagel and everything to do with life. My baby girl was heading back to the hospital. I was once again reminded that cancer is part of our world and […]
Detoxing from a Weekend Binge
Here is what my former eating disordered life looked like: Monday-Thursday: restrict, calorie rules, weighing in 20-40 times per day, diet pills, low fat, no fat, sugar free, fat free Friday-Saturday: Dinner and going out with friends, events, Mardi Gras balls, football games, excessive drinking and eating Sunday: Close the blinds, self-loath, binge, purge, more self-hate […]