THE BIGGEST REVELATION OF MY LIFE

My road to freedom from an eating disorder

BY SARAH MATUSEK

Left, right, left, right. This was my last walk to my lycée (high school) in France. I'd been making this walk for the past five months. My feet rearranged the pebbles in a familiar rhythm. Raindrops joined the freckles on my cheeks.

Soon, I arrived at the public gardens, a point along the way. I took in the expanse, reliving fond memories about this park. I stopped on the bridge, looking over into the antique courtyard. The small stone fountain still spouted a trickling string of water in the rain. It was there on that bridge that I yelled out loud at God, in confusion and frustration.

My time in France hadn't started off this way. A love of travel and a French immersion program, where I'd be speaking French all day every day, had led me overseas. Initially, living abroad was exciting. My host family was respectful of my faith and my reliance on Christian Science to meet my needs. And my love of dance had kept me involved in many different local productions.