Positively Caroline | How I Beat Bulimia For Good

My Name is Caroline

In 1978 I was a high school senior with an eating disorder called bulimia.

35 Years Later

This is my story...

Not a week has gone by since 1988 that I haven’t gotten a call, email, or letter from someone thanking me for sharing my story. In addition to the letters of gratitude and requests for help, I’ve gotten even more queries about what has happened to me since the book was published.

I got married on June 18th, 1983 to Haywood Miller at Washington’s National Cathedral. No one, including him, knew that I had an eating disorder.

In May 1989, as our professional worlds were crumbling and we were heading towards declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy of our eating disorder center, Renewal, I posed for the honor of being named "Self" Magazine's person of the month, along with my newborn son and husband, Haywood.

In the fall of 1990 I posed with my son, Haywood IV, who looked just like the image of the little boy I saw in a dream while I was pregnant.

After Samantha was born I was thrilled to have been blessed with one healthy boy and one healthy girl, so I thought I was done having children. In the summer of 1993 our family of four enjoyed a quick visit to Bethany Beach, DE where I had spent many happy days as a child.

In a happy surprise, we became a family of five when Bayard joined us in early 1995. That summer we posed for a picture at the neighborhood park where I had played often as a child myself.

Shortly after Bayard was born in 1995, I decided it was time to get myself baptized at the age of 33 along with all three children.

In 1996, we drove out to Middletown, MD to see what had happened to the property we had renovated to be the Renewal eating disorder center eight years earlier. Although Haywood didn't remember ever living there, I will never forget seeing the property get auctioned off while I watched from our bedroom (far left) on the second floor.

Two of my college roommates, who also swam on the Harvard team with me, Kathleen McCloskey Clow (left) and Kathryn Davis Van Steyn (right), are still close friends of mine.

I took my children to spend Thanksgiving 1996 with my grandmother in Lewes, DE. Donny, as I called her, was the best grandmother a person could ever hope to have.

Although parenting is hard enough as is, Bayard’s unusual behavior around words, starting around the age of one, threw us for a loop.

Haywood and I returned with our children to my 25th reunion from Harvard University where I joined a panel discussing breakthroughs in health. Going back to Harvard as a healthy, happy adult was important closure for me.

In February 2003, my daughter Samantha and I earned our black belts in Hapkido after five years of grueling training and dozens of stripe and belt tests.

After several decades away from competitive swimming, I entered my first Masters meet in 2005 and actually won a few events! Swimming for pleasure, and not because I had to, marked a big change in how I approached that and other hobbies as part of my long-term recovery.

I returned to Harvard’s famous Memorial Hall in the spring of 2006 with other MAPP classmates to sit in on Tal ben Shahar’s “Positive Psychology” class. It was poignant for me to be there after my unhealthy college years.

Bayard told us that he has a goal of visiting every baseball park in the country, so we try to go to a few new ones every year. In 2006 we went to Chicago to enjoy a game there.

May 2006 with family on graduation day. I graduated in the first Master of Applied Positive Psychology program from the University of Pennsylvania.

In the summer of 2011, Haywood and I stopped by the farmette in Boring, MD to see if anything had changed, but it looked the same as we left it in 1989.

Picking up a new sport at midlife isn’t easy but I’m really enjoying the teamwork of crew and all of the lessons it teaches. Some of my rowing colleagues joined me for a race on Washington, D.C.’s Potomac River in the fall of 2011.

Although I once worried that my eating disorder would prevent me from having children, in 2012 I saw my oldest, Haywood IV, graduate from the University of Cincinnati, where he was captain of the men’s swim team.

In September 2012 I was named a Good News Ambassador by the Good News Network for my work in disseminating Positive Psychology around the world.

In 2013, I published Positively Caroline, which ties together the work I've done for many decades to create lasting happiness, understand how to help others set and achieve hard goals, and provide hope to others that big dreams can come true.

BUY THE BOOK

Positively Caroline: How I Beat Bulimia For Good and Found Real Happiness, is one of the first books of its kind to tackle the subject of how eating disorder survivors can and do create lives of joy and health that persist past the early years of recovery. Some media reports have led people to believe that there is an “addictive personality” that careens from addiction to addiction without ever experiencing lasting wellness, but Caroline’s story is a demonstration that many people can, and do, put food into its proper perspective and then go on to handle other life challenges without sliding backwards into food abuse or turning to other addictive substances or behaviors.

Positively Caroline is the sequel to the bestselling My Name is Caroline (Doubleday 1988), which was the first major autobiography to cover recovery from bulimia, and which continues to sell well today. The book was an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild and was reviewed in countless newspapers and magazines all over the world, and featured on television and radio programs. Tens of thousands of people say that the book helped them to have hope for themselves or someone close to them, and that it gave them the courage to speak up and get the help they needed. LEARN MORE ABOUT POSITIVELY CAROLINE

POSITIVELY CAROLINE

In this 90-second trailer Caroline talks about what prompted her to write the sequel to her best-selling autobiography, “My Name is Caroline” (Doubleday 1988), what she’s learned in the last few decades about the most effective recovery techniques, and how the science of happiness has helped her find her strongest and best self at midlife.

Love this book! Inspiring and will help many others who struggle with eating disorders and ongoing negative thinking patterns.

Sharon R Peterson, LCSW-C Founding Director of Eating Disorder Network of Maryland

I read Caroline Adams Miller's first book, My Name is Caroline, when I was struggling with my eating disorder in my twenties and found it moving and helpful. However, Positively Caroline is more important to me now. As a 52-year old in a very imperfect recovery, I was inspired to see her thriving despite difficulties that life threw her way. Her writing is clear and compelling as she describes maintaining her recovery and building a loving family despite business difficulties and family of origin issues. The book is like hearing from an old friend who has met challenges and continues to glow. "Positively Caroline" inspired me to work on new midlife goals, using Ms. Adams Miller's book "Living Your Best Life" as a guide.

Michely Marlynn

If you have any doubt that mature, enduring recovery and happiness are possible, read "Positively Caroline." it is an inspiring chronicle of Caroline Miller's grit, and her fierce determination in the face of extraordinary challenges, to live a life filled with love, meaning and exemplary success.

Marilee Adams, Ph.D., author, Change Your Questions, Change Your LIfe

I was a huge fan of Caroline's first book back in 1983 ... so it was a real thrill for me to see this sequel and catch up on Caroline's life again. Five stars is not enough.

Pamela Anne

What's great about Caroline in this book is her resilience and explaining how she bounced back from it. She has practical advice in every chapter about how she does this. It's a fascinating read and easy to lose track of time. It's like eating perfectly buttered popcorn with a bit a caramel sweetness. Only there are no calories and you feel great after you're finished.

Susan

Positively Caroline is a very inspiring book about life, careers, and the power of zest and resilience... [I]t is a wonderful gift to all women and men who want to forge their own definition of happiness and success.

Maria, OnlyGreatBooks

I had planned to read this book on a vacation next month, but once it arrived I started reading it and could not put it down until I finished. Caroline has overcome so much and thrived despite everything life threw at her. This book will inspire many people whether or not they ever had an eating disorder.

Kelly P.

Although the book is subtitled, "How I Beat Bulimia for Good," this book is not just for those with eating disorders or other addictions. This book is for anyone who has felt overwhelmed by life and found their way to a better place. The chapters at the end provide such a great example of how enthusiastic one can be when finding a calling - all the more so when the calling is about living well.

Janice B. Stanley

Positively Caroline is without a doubt a valuable resource for the everyday person but it is a must read for all counseling professionals.

Sarah Marie

This book is not just for those struggling with recovery issues or worrying about how well they support their children. We can all learn from people who have lived difficult lives with resilience and courage.

Kathryn Britton

"Positively Caroline" is a very powerful book that will help so many people. Caroline touches all who have had issues or trauma - not just food issues ... I highly recommend this book not only to adults in recovery but to share with our teenage children as an example of how to conquer our challenges and become happy, whole people."

Victoria

Caroline Adams Miller has written an amazing book on long term recovery from addiction.This book provides one of the clearest examples of how the new science of positive psychology is more than just a smiley face. Her application of positive psychology principles, of constructive goal setting, and her efforts to create smart boundaries against the negative and destructive forces in her life offer a role model for anyone seeking long term healthy recovery from addictive behavior.

Arthur Fullerton

Caroline Adams Miller is also at the forefront of Positive Psychology and research-based well-being with an incredible scholarly pedigree, so her journey is more than a sharing of a personal story, but one that encompasses years of dedication to study and implementation of research based learning to not just survive - but thrive. I do not have an eating disorder but found this book very relevant in many ways -- such as the dilemma of being a working mother who needs to care for a family while also remaining relevant professionally- and find a center of balance for oneself in the process!

Stella Lee

This book gives hope to women everywhere who have fallen and need to know that they can and will get back up. Caroline is an amazing writer, she has the ability to paint a scene so vividly you feel as though you are standing there right beside her. This is a must read to anyone looking for their next great book.

Scarlet Raven

This is a book every executive coach and every clinician should have in their library to recommend to clients. For those working with women as an executive coach, this book is a must. For every success driven woman in the U.S. I will lay odds there is some part of Caroline's story that will hit a nerve...and because of Caroline's background in Positive Psychology, her story then evolves showing exactly how it works in a real life transformation.

Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D., Dr. Success | Author, Executive Coach

A truly inspiring, beautifully written and thrilling read! Every one of every age should read and can greatly benefit from “Positively Caroline.” For anyone, and that includes all of us, who has things in their past that don’t serve them, who has annoying to extremely harmful habits and/or addictions, who has frustrating to painful relationships, who wants to make and maintain lasting positive changes or transformations of any kind, “Positively Caroline” is for you.

Robert W. Dauman

[Y]ou don't have to have an eating disorder to find much of value in this book, particularly about being a parent... I found this book fascinating, and recommend it highly.

Hudson Valley News, Ann La Farge

Positively Caroline is Positively Inspiring! You can’t help but fall in love with Caroline. You will laugh, cry, and become her cheerleader. For those who have read Miller’s previous books and/or respected her professional accomplishments, this delicate insight into her soul will likely make you want to be her best friend. She will inspire you to be your best, and this is the mark of truly inspirational, positive literature.

Carin Rockind, MAPP, PurposeGirl, LLC. Speaker, Author, Coach: The Woman's Positive Psych Coach

Caroline’s story is honest, compelling and inspiring And it is a book for all women – those who know the nightmare life of a secret eating disorder, and also those who know the challenges of being a stressed, high-achieving woman in our culture.

Diane Cameron

Noted positive psychology media maven and author, coach Caroline Miller's refreshingly optimistic book whips wide open the windows to women's wellness. Miller masterfully shows you how to identify and harness the positives in you to overcome any life battle touched by an eating disorder or any other adversity. If your life is spinning out of kilter or you know someone's whose is, grab a copy of "Positively Caroline" now. Gift yourself with success, happiness and fulfillment strategies. Time to feel joy as you live your best life right now. An A+ read!

Judy Krings

Written beautifully and compellingly, this book shows any reader how building (or rebuilding) a healthy life can be achieved if one is willing to truly think through her actions and set her sights on new goals .. Caroline’s story is one everyone should hear.

Liz

Every page had me itching for more. Caroline is honest and I felt as if I knew her in real life. Reading this book, gave me hope after struggling 11 years with my eating disorder.

Diana

This book is an important contribution to the women’s leadership field, and a gripping read for anyone. Caroline acts as a mentor-on-paper, sharing the lows, the “aha!” moments, and the pride from being on the road to recovery…. [The book] is inspirational and truly targets the core issues of self-doubt and overcoming challenge.”

Kathy Korman Frey, Entrepreneur in Residence, Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership |The George Washington University School of Business, CFEE

READ FULL REVIEWS