The day that Brenda Piazza’s sister was killed was the same day that Brenda also lost her dad. Her sister’s death caused her father to emotionally disappear, never to return.

One day, he picked up and left for good. Brenda would see him twice a year. Each time he would say, “You’ve gained weight.” It was clear how Brenda was going to earn her father’s love. She had to get thin.

Devastating bouts with anorexia, then bulimia followed as she binged and purged as many as eight times a day. Nine awful years later, Brenda reached out for help or death awaited her.

When a friend took her to church, the pastor said, “Leave everything and come into the arms of your Heavenly Father who loves you.” It was all she needed to hear. Her whole life she longed for her father to say he loved her, now God the Father was lavishing her with love.

Recovered for 20 years, Brenda now leads the Rock’s Eating Disorder Ministry where men and women find hope and healing. Many of the attendees are recovered and that’s the way Brenda wants it. “I want to show those who believe they’ll never stop being consumed with food that that day will come,” says Brenda. “If I can do it, they can too.”