Vibrant, talented, strong, and beautiful, Andrea Smeltzer seemed destined for a great future. But after a one-year struggle with bulimia, she died in her sleep at age 19, catapulting her mother Doris into a wrenching but ultimately rewarding journey of discovery. This unabashed account not only speaks about one family’s tragedy, but also critiques the social and personal attitudes toward our bodies and appearance that create victims like Andrea. Andrea’s poetry and journal entries, combined with her mother’s reflections, offer insight and understanding about a crushing disorder that afflicts far too many young people.
Over de auteur
Doris Smeltzer, an educator for nearly 20 years, was thrust into the world of eating disorders through Andrea, her 19-year-old daughter, who died of bulimia in June 1999. Doris and her husband, Tom, have keynoted at numerous conferences and presented at universities and organizations internationally. As the first bereaved parents invited to present before a congressional briefing on eating disorders in Washington, DC, their story has now been told in the headlines of periodicals and in radio and television spots from New York to California.
Doris was named Napa County’s “Community Hero” in 2003, received her Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology in February 2005 and is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization, Andrea’s Voice Foundation, which is dedicated to education and support for everyone touched by eating disorders. When not educating on disordered eating and providing training on bully prevention and character education, gardens and works on projects with Tom in their Northern California home, which they share with their cats and llamas. Doris especially enjoys spending time with her daughter Jocelyn and son-in-law, Tracy, and dancing with her infant grandson, Fischer Lynn.
Andrea Lynn Smeltzer, 19, was trained in opera, enjoyed the theater, was an avid dancer and masterful at making jewelry and crafting poetry. After studying in Spain for a year at the age of fourteen, she spoke Spanish fluently. At the time of her death she was studying German, with a plan to master Japanese next. Prior to college, Andrea was elected president of her high school’s Amnesty International group and was an outspoken advocate for human rights. At Pitzer College she was awarded the prestigious Fletcher Jones Scholarship, worked as a Resident Assistant and Mentor, majored in International Business and Politics—and looked forward to saving the world. She died tragically after thirteen months of bulimic behaviors on June 16, 1999.
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