ANAD lost a legend two weeks ago, and so did the entire eating disorder community. In the midst of ANAD Conference 2019 preparations, we were informed that our founder, Vivian Hanson Meehan, died on Tuesday, September 17. She had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma earlier this summer, and passed away in her home surrounded by her husband and family.
In 1976, hardly anyone knew what an eating disorder was, let alone how to treat it. When Vivian was faced with a family member who started to show eating disorder behaviors, she did not know where to turn. She put an ad in a newspaper describing the behaviors, to see if anyone else was dealing with this concern. She received giant bags of mail in response, (see picture below), and ANAD was born. Vivian took all of the letters that she received, and became a pioneer of eating disorder treatment and support in America and in places around the world.
