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| Share...Until Your Heart's Content |  | LORI HENRY
"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else." - Emily Dickinson
Lori's experience with bulimia began when she was 12 years old. The constant obsessing and anxiety caused her to put a smile on her face, even while fighting through the pain. She continued her downward spiral during high school and was put on a wait list for treatment by her school counsellor. This began her series of attempts at healing and her eventual full recovery from her eating disorder.
She was the Editor of Beauty: You Define It magazine, an alternative youth publication that dealt with questioning mainstream beauty standards and our culture's fixation on outward appearance. She has also worked intensively with local youth around issues such as body image, eating disorders and dieting. She has published a book of poetry, Silent Screams, which was written when she was a teenager. The second printing was released in 2007. She also works as a freelance writer for various local and international publications.
Along with writing, Lori sat on the Advisory Committee of Jessie's Hope Society (formerly ANAD). She currently acts as a Director of Shelley's Angels Society and the You Are Not Alone Eating Disorder Society. She is a trained actor in theatre, film and television, and has had over 20 years of dance training.
www.lorihenry.ca |  | SUSAN KERN
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me"
Susan is the survivor of a childhood full of devastating emotional and sexual abuse. This led to a lifetime of emotional and compulsive eating as she battled to overcome the continual pain she suffered at the hands of her own parents. She learned young that food was the only thing you could depend on for comfort. Unfortunately that comfort came with a painful price as she has had to battle obesity since childhood, leaving her open to the taunts and jibes of a judging world.
Susan has worked hard to create a loving family environment for her husband and four children. Her role as an employment counsellor working with multi-cultural clients affords her the opportunity to be a supportive member of the community. She takes pride in the fact that she can inspire and motivate others to be the best they can be.
Susan looks forward to telling her story and offering encouragement and strength to others. |  | TERESA HARWOOD-LYNN
"Do not wait for leaders, do it alone, person to person." - Mother Teresa
Teresa, having journeyed through a world of emotional over eating and poor body image now gives back to those who struggle. She has designed and delivered weekend workshops for clients of S Team Counseling as well as a Spiritual Garment work shop as part of weekend retreats for St. Catherine's Anglican Church.
Teresa has recently completed the Substance use certificate program at the Justice Institute of B.C. She is employed by the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance. Teresa is an active member of the community, she is an Emergency Social Service volunteer, a task force member for the City of Port Coquitlam's Community Cultural Development Investment Program, volunteer mentor for the West Coast Chocolate Festival and is currently on the board of Shelley's Angels Society.
An avid hiker and out door enthusiast.
Teresa looks forward to spread messages of hope and encouragement.
|  | ROBIN RICHARDSON
"To recover, I had to trully get it that my worth was not my weight. My worth is the love that is in my heart and the light that I shine on the world." - Robin Richardson
Robin is a recovering incest survivor, anorexic/bulimic/compulsive overeater, and alcoholic. Robin was consumed with all facets of an eating disorder from the ages of 13 to 24 when she found help and hope. For her, food and body obsession relieved her of what was too painful to know and provided psychic numbing and safety until it became a life-threatening disorder. Robin’s recovery has been a spiral leading her through relapses and new awarenesses to a place of peace with herself and her past. Robin is also a singer/songwriter and a therapist working with eating disorders, trauma and addictions. Her life today is about giving back the recovery she was freely given as she finds her greatest reward in being of service to others.
Robin has a degree in songwriting from the Berklee College of Music as well as a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She has traveled extensively, performing for 9 years throughout the US and Asia. She currently performs in “Mystic Highway” with singer/songwriter, Sarah Kelton. Their music is designed to uplift and inspire, to touch the heart with beauty and to give hope. She has done numerous live performances as well as television and radio shows in the United States and Europe. Her latest two recordings “Velvet Bridge” and “Songs of Hope” were released this summer. She is currently delighted to be working with Dr. Anita Johnston on the creation of “A Companion Guide to Eating in the Light of the Moon” – a healing kit, which will include cds, inspirational cards, and journaling/art, exercises.
Robin believes that having a voice and singing or telling her truth, after being a voiceless, shame-filled bulimic and incest survivor has been key to her recovery. She finds songs to be gifts of beauty and meaning to her from the universe. Her delight is passing them along and sharing their wisdom and joy. Robin’s oldest story of being damaged goods has changed to a new, recovery story – one that she wants to share with others - that nothing is too big or too shameful to get over. She knows that her worth (and all women’s worth) is not her weight or appearance and that she has always been enough. She is also grateful for her past as she knows that it has made her who she is today….a woman deeply connected and useful to others, living a soul-directed life beyond her wildest dreams.
www.mystichighway.org
|  | KIM RATCLIFFE
"Recovery is possible, never give up the fight, WE all deserve a happy, healthy, eating disorder free life!"
Kim had her eating disorder on and off for over 20 years. Through hard work, determination, strength, tears, courage and 5 years of therapy, she managed to beat the anorexia. She always felt the need/control to be thin, in order to be loved. Therapy changed her life and her way of thinking about herself, food and the need to be thin.
Her second husband showed her that size doesn't matter, it's what's inside that counts, and also helped her to understand relationships, communication and her own abandonment issues.
She now loves herself for who she is and what she has accomplished, is extremely proud of how far she has come with recovery. She also has a website that is based on her personal experience with her own eating disorder. There she shares her journal entries of her feelings when she was in recovery.
She has shared her experience in other events, seminars, and schools in hope to keep educating the public and if she can help just one person by sharing her story, it makes her feel honoured and rewarded.
She feels very honoured to be asked to speak at this event and is looking forward to meeting all that attend.
www.angelfire.com/oh3/anorexia
|  | DR. ELLEN DOMM
“You are where your thoughts are. Be certain your thoughts are where you want to be.” - The Talmud
I am a Registered Psychologist in BC and Professor of Psychology at Capilano College, and have been teaching and practicing since 1986. A survivor of anorexia and bulimia, I use my life experience to inform my teaching and deepen my clinical work. I have numerous interests in my field, including neuroscience, the mind-body connection, cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, and the Positive Psychology movement.
I know that recovery is possible. I’ve experienced it, and I’ve been privileged to be part of many others’ recovery process. I’ve discovered that, while each individual’s story is unique, there are certain themes that unite those who become gripped by an eating disorder: the desire to be good, to do things right, to feel accepted and acceptable. An eating disorder often represents heroic, albeit devastating, efforts toward these goals. But when we recognize what we really want to accomplish, redefine the rules we live by, and decide to channel that effort toward life, great things can and do happen. It only takes a moment to decide who you will be. |  | MAY HENRY
"When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance." - Lee Ann Womack
May and Frank Henry are the proud parents of Lori Henry, one of the speakers. Their experience in dealing with a daughter with bulimia mirrors the trials and tribulations of so many other parents: helplessness, fear, guilt and anxiety. In the end, though, they managed to see Lori through to full recovery and now celebrate Lori’s passion to help others to heal.
May presently teaches grades 2/3 at Irvine Elementary in Port Coquitlam and has taught Kindergarten for many years. Frank is a noon hour supervisor there. May has been at Irvine since 1975. The importance of positive self-esteem and body image is infused into the curriculum through self-esteem building activities and using picture books like “SHaPEsViLLe” to foster the acceptance of all body types.
Not one to sit still, she was an active parent helper at the Caulfield School of Dance when Lori danced there and was on the Board of Directors for “T.A.G.” (Terry Fox School Theatre Advisory Group) from 1999 to 2007. She also did Polynesian dancing in her spare time with Kalaya Dancers. May plans to travel the world when she retires!
|  | BRUCE CATTERALL
“No legacy is so rich as honesty.” - William Shakespeare
Bruce’s experience with Eating Disorders began when he met a special woman in 2003. Through their relationship, he began to learn the realities of the disorder, beyond the generalizations in the media, and the clinical definitions in textbooks. He has witnessed first-hand the struggles of his spouse, as she ventures through the trials & tribulations of recovery. He has endured the difficulties that such a disorder can bring to a relationship; and he has gone through his own adversity, as he has struggled to figure out and accept his own role in her recovery. The process has revealed the need for truth -- not just from his spouse and her network, but also from himself.
In March of this year, Bruce married his spouse, and they are now working towards a future that they both agree will include a family.
Bruce is a long-time Tri-Cities resident. He is a banker by trade, and has a degree in the Arts from Simon Fraser University.
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