“Finally I Am Able to Breathe”

**Content warning: Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

Scarlet Freese struggled with anorexia from a young age. She wrote this poem to illustrate the contrast between the darkness of an eating disorder and the light of recovery. She wants others to know “it is so possible to recover.”

There is no light in this forest,
No candle or shining star
No map to guide me through this dark night

I am alone,
Completely alone

The wolves move in, surrounding me
I get pulled apart, piece by piece
Until all I am left with is a spark of hope

The spark flickers, and I scream out for help…

Tears pour down my cheeks…until I feel a fire ignite inside me

Gold, red, pink, orange–the colors jump out from behind the trees
And finally there is light
Finally I am free from this nightmare
Finally I am able to breathe