Fifteen Years Ago Today...

It’s been fifteen years now since Princess Diana passed away. It feels like time passed quickly and like time froze all at the same time. Today marks the anniversary of that sad day. Fifteen years. We all do so much in this business called life. This anniversary may, indeed, come and go without much notice from a lot of us out there. After all, we didn’t know her. She was a public figure, one of the most prominent public figures at that. She was a princess. But, for me, and maybe for some of you out there touched by eating disorders, in any way, she was more. She was proof that fairytale beauty and images don’t make you immune from human frailty and challenges. She was a princess with an eating disorder. That resonated powerfully. We certainly don’t want to glorify the eating disorder; she suffered from bulimia for years. But she displayed courage to first acknowledge her struggle. It was risky at the time because of the stigma attached; that stigma, indeed, threatened to damage her own public image as a princess. But she admitted she wasn’t fairytale perfect. She was human with a human condition. And even a princess needs help. And so, she did yet another powerful thing; she was a princess who sought recovery. Influence, impact, integrity: three “I” words which she displayed my making those two decisions. And that affected many of us out there, to say to ourselves, “I need help also.” How do you measure that? It doesn’t go away. We never know just what impact we make on another person. Diana had mass appeal. She was called “the people’s princess,” after all. But we can continue where she left off. On this fifteenth anniversary, let’s take some time to stop, remember and honor Princess Diana with our own recovery journeys, wherever we find ourselves in them. Princess Diana, we remember and thank you.