I BELIEVE I WAS born a compulsive overeater. When I was eighteen months old, my parents found me on the floor, sharing a bone with our labrador retriever. At age three, I discovered “trick or treating”: the next time Mom wouldn’t give me candy, off I went to the neighbors. It worked once, why not again?

Anonymous, Overeaters. Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition . Overeaters Anonymous. Kindle Edition.

When did you develop your affinity for food
to calm your insecurities? We had no dog,
so I never reached for those cookies,
but cookie packages and cookie jars,
those I knew, raided, emptied.
And the treasure trove oh Halloween
wasn’t a bag but the bowl at the front door.
I was an easy baby to entertain,
my companion a Raggedy Ann
to chatter with from my bassinet.
When did I first require clothes marked “chubby”?
Was I born a compulsive overeater or just
get there as quickly as I could.
It doesn’t matter. Overeaters Anonymous
was there to meet my needs when
I finally got there!