Abstract
Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Jana Rozenhalova.
Design/methodology/approach :
Jana provides a short summary of her life and is then interviewed by Jerome.
Findings :
Jana tells us about her long struggles with eating disorders and provides us with the metaphor that it is like being a broken cup glued back together again. You have to be very careful it does not break again.
Research limitations/implications :
Jana’s story is one, yet it offers us unique insights. She comments at one point, “[…] if it was not for the eating disorders […] I would not be me”.
Practical implications :
Jana notes that while she could see many reasons behind her eating disorders, they did not really matter. What mattered was that she could overcome them.
Social implications :
While Jana first thought hope was an empty word, she now realises in retrospect that she was more hopeful than anyone she knew. As Patricia Deegan (1996) puts it, “Hope is not just a nice sounding euphemism. Hope and biological life are inextricably intertwined” (p. 93).
Originality/value :
Jana concludes her account saying she would like to be able to look back at her life and feel that she had lived up to her potential. Most of us would also be happy with that outcome.