Just Remembering

I put on a CD today, the Carpenters, a brother and sister team who were very popular in the ’70’s.   As it so often does, the music triggered lots of memories.   Karen Carpenter was a supremely talented musician with a beautiful voice who died at the age of 32 from heart failure that was directly linked to her battle with anorexia.  While people were starting to take notice of Eating Disorders by 1983, not too many people really believed that this was a serious, life threatening illness.  I remember hearing that she died and being shocked that it could actually happen.  Although my own recovery was past the critical stage by then, it still left me shaken.

This is an article about her life and her death.  Just a reminder of how serious this issue is for everyone involved.

http://atdpweb.soe.berkeley.edu/quest/Mind&Body/Carpenter.html

At the risk of seeming hopelessly old fashioned, here is a video of  a healthier looking Karen singing one of her classics, a rather sadly ironic tune, I guess, but a wonderful example of a beautiful voice that perhaps would not have been silenced had she had the kind of help that is available today. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvBCl3CBMXA