For Jenni Schaefer, denial was a way of life.
For years, she thought of herself as “almost anorexic.”
Eventually, after studying biochemistry at Texas A&M University before moving to Nashville to play music, she was suffering the effects of a full-blown eating disorder, which she called Ed. That “almost anorexic” label was just a dodge, she realized, a devious self-sabotage.
Her courageous chronicle of her journey, “Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too,” became a breakthrough best-seller. Schaefer emerged as a leading light in the recovery movement.
‘Okay to be Happy’
The author and songwriter will help kick off the second annual National Eating Disorders Association Walk sponsored by Ophelia’s Place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 24, at Long Branch Park. Schaefer will sing her compositions, such as the uplifting “It’s Okay to be Happy,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, at Café at 407, at Ophelia’s Place, 407 Tulip St., in the village.
“I want people who struggle with eating disorders to know it is possible to move from being ‘in recovery’ to being ‘fully recovered,’” Schaefer says. “I want them to get into life and follow their dreams, not be stuck in or defined by an eating disorder.”
In her latest book, Jenni teams with Harvard Medical School clinical psychologist Jennifer J. Thomas to address the millions of people who struggle with disordered eating while not meeting the diagnostic criteria for a full-blown eating disorder. With “Almost Anorexic: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Relationship with Food a Problem?” the co-authors bridge the gaps between cutting-edge research and personal experience to provide insight and hope.
An avid biker, hiker and guitar player, Schaefer lives in Austin, where she was recently engaged.
Admission to Schaefer’s Friday evening performance is free. On-site registration for Saturday’s one-mile walk begins at 9 a.m. Participants can also register online at opheliasplace.org. For information, contact Jodie Wilson-Dougherty at 451-5544, ext. 10, or [email protected].
Korn’s den mother
When Korn began to pop as a hot heavy metal band in the mid-1990s, their tour manager was a tough-as-nails Syracuse gal named Maryjo Spillane.
A strong-willed redhead who previously toiled for Baldwinsville’s National Audio, Spillane made a perfect den mother for the “nu metal” boy scouts from hell.
Now, years later, Korn brings its touring act to Maryjo’s backyard when the quintet plugs in at the State Fair Grandstand, on the fair’s opening day, Thursday, Aug. 22. Warm-up band Black Stone Cherry is scheduled to start the show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $45, $35 and $25; nysfair.org; 487-7711.
With roots in Bakersfield, Calif., Korn created two No. 1 albums, “Follow the Leader” (1998) and “Issues” (1999). The band’s most recent disc is “The Path to Totality” (2011).
Since she toured the world with Korn, Maryjo Spillane has become one of the most revered tour managers in rock and roll. She was nominated as the 2004 Road Warrior of the Year by the PollStar Concert Industry Awards for her work with Perfect Circle, Yellowcard and Slayer.
More recently Maryjo has managed tours for Mastodon and again for Slayer.
JGB at the Fair
Jay Bernhardt, the CEO of JGB Enterprises, Inc. here in Liverpool, is partnering with Sherwood Inn restaurateur Ben Eberhardt to operate Bedford Falls Enterprises LLC, which has signed a last-minute contract with New York state to run the Empire Room at the State Fair’s Art & Home Center.
Eberhardt and Bernhardt, who owns Baldwinsville’s Red Mill Inn and several prime properties in Liverpool, signed a contract last week with the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets to staff the restaurant from 9 a.m. to midnight every day of the fair, which starts Thursday.
