In honor of tomorrow being the first day of Women's History Month (how did it get to be March already?!), I want to give voice to something that has afflicted nearly every woman I know at some point in her life, in some form. It's something we started grappling with when our bodies started growing from girl to woman. It's something our sisters, mothers, and grandmothers often suffered from. It's something that stays with us in subtle, yet pernicious ways. It's something that we deny, judge, and hate – but also secretly love. Above all, it's something we stay silent about. I want to talk today about our eating disorders. In the opening chapter of my second book, The Book of SHE, I recounted the story of an intense, and startling, bulimia relapse I had eleven years ago when I was overcome with self-doubt and inner criticism while writing my first book. Upon reading my story, many women reached out sharing "I, too, was bulimic in high school and sometimes have relapses as an adult. I've done so much spiritual and psychological work and these episodes seem to come out the blue. How did heal from this?" The road to healing from eating disorders is long and complex, involving deep psychological, biological, and spiritual support. What I've learned on my healing journey is so much more than I can share in a single podcast. In short, the overall attitude I found most transformative was to see my eating disorder as a friend with whom I'm in a lifelong relationship (whether or not it's active). Today on the podcast I'm sharing more about this perspective shift, as well as the therapeutic healing modality I've found most effective for healing not only eating disorders, but also all sorts of other traumas and fragmentations. This modality is called IFS (or Internal Family Systems), and it's something I've been a client of for many years, wrote about in The Book of SHE, and which I also use with my mentoring clients. Rather than demonizing and pathologizing our eating disorders (and addictions- both soft and hard), IFS teaches us how to turn towards them and befriend them. Mary Kruger– a Certified IFS Therapist and Lead Trainer who specializes in addiction, eating disorders, and trauma– is joining us today to speak about this revolutionary way to approach these things. May this conversation be of benefit. Mary's website: www.mpkruger.com IFS website: www.ifs-institute.com Sara's website: www.SaraAvantStover.com The Book of SHE: www.indiebound.org/book/9781608682898 Women's House of Wisdom: www.WomensHouseofWisdom.com Sara on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SaraAvantStover Sara on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SaraAvantStoverAuthor Subscribe to Sara's newsletter: www.SaraAvantStover.com/#newsletter

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