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Connie Sobczack and her sister, Stephanie, were just like most sisters growing up. They shared embarrassing stories, secret crushes, clothes, makeup, and jewelry. But for many years, the two young women also shared a disease: bulimia.
Both girls struggled with severe body hatred, wincing every time they caught a glimpse of their reflections in the mirror. For Connie, a former straight-A student, the eating disorder took such a powerful hold over her life that she was forced to drop out of college to deal with her problem. With time and counseling, she learned to accept and love her body for what it was.
Stephanie, however, wasn't so lucky.
"I fought my way through it," says Connie, "but she did not."
Connie's beautiful older sister spent decades struggling with her weight, trying to whittle her body down to the size of the supermodels she saw on magazine covers. At the age of 36, her body weak from years of abuse, Stephanie passed away, leaving her two daughters motherless.
In the wake of her sister's death, Connie knew she wanted to do something to prevent other women from succumbing to the same pressures that she and Stephanie had struggled with. But her true inspiration for taking action was her young daughter, Carmen.
"I decided there was no way I would let this beautiful baby girl grow up hating herself," she says. "I wanted to change the world for Carmen."
So, to ensure that her daughter and countless other young women wouldn't face Stephanie's tragic fate, Connie and a social worker, Elizabeth Scott, joined together to form The Body Positive, a nonprofit organization.
