Vicky S. Riley is familiar with the look. It's the glare of disdain people reserve for those whose bodies' walls conceal the spirit within. For Riley, the look came because of her weight. It was a revelation when she realized the person who gave her the look most often was staring back at her in the mirror.
Riley invites you to tour the inner mansion where her spirit lives, hidden deep within her. The rooms and hallways of her mansion will be familiar to many who struggle with addictive behaviors, whether it manifests as food, drug, alcohol, or some other addiction.
Like Riley, we all have internal rooms within our homes-one to which we may not possess the keys needed to change our behavior and invite others inside. Like Riley, you may have a hallway of boredom, where insistent thoughts invite you to indulge. Perhaps your homes's living room is filled with lonely, empty chairs, or you have guest rooms filled with opinions forced upon you by outsiders.
Whatever the state of your inner home, it's yours alone, and it's not all bad. You can renovate rooms that encourage addiction and self-doubt, transforming the negative into something self-affirming and positive.
About the Author: Born in 1957, Vicky S. Riley was adopted into a family of ten in Granite, Utah. At twenty-three, she became a single mother-an act considered shameful in her community at the time. The father of her child left and died in an accident a year later.
Riley married, adding a stepson and son to her family. Seven years later, her husband died of diabetic complications. Three years later, she remarried, acquiring four stepdaughters. Riley and her second husband have been married for twenty-five years and live in Ivins, Utah. They have been blessed with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Over the years, Riley has been an artist, storyteller, and photographer. Her lifelong struggle with food addiction and insecurities affected her deeply, often leaving her convinced she had neither value nor talent. But she now embraces her true value and hopes to help others struggling with addiction.
