You don’t meet a lot of people as a new writer. But as you become an advocate for something you are passionate about, that’s where the magic happens. That is how Lauren Dow became connected with Author’s Lounge. By sharing authenticity in her stories. Since sharing her story of recovery from an eating disorder, Lauren Dow has become more than an author, she has become an advocate for normalizing mental health and promoting self-love.

About Lauren Dow

Lauren Dow is an author, mental health advocate, dog mom, and most importantly, a survivor. 

In 2018, she was diagnosed with several eating disorders, while working to maintain the major depression she’d been diagnosed with almost a decade prior. Since then, she has worked her way through recovery and has been sharing her experiences of loss, growth, and survival. Based in Denver, Colorado, Lauren has been writing to advocate for the support and education of those impacted by mental health and encouraging others to dig deeper on their journey of self-love.

As of February 22, 2021, her first fiction novel, In Body I Trust, is available for preorder. Other works by Lauren include Your Wild Journal: 30 Days of Journal Prompts: Change Your Perspective & Discover Your Creativity.

About In Body I Trust

Amelia is about to turn 30, but instead of celebrating, she is overpowered by her battle against anxiety and depression driven by the inner voices of her little monster— her eating disorder.

But as days progress, the mundane becomes the unmanageable. She self-medicates with alcohol and sinks lower into vivid flashbacks of her and Dominic backpacking the world together. One day he went to Guatemala, the next he vanished like a ghost, leaving Amelia to remain in the depths of her eating disorder alone. That is, until she meets Emmett, her new neighbor with schizoaffective disorder she’s deemed as her guardian angel from afar.

Based on a true story, In Body I Trust dives into the mind of Amelia as she struggles to swim from the deepest, darkest parts of herself back to the top, before it’s too late.

While this book is fictionalized, it is a very true, raw, and real story to Lauren. Every self-deprecating thought, every ounce of wine or memory she’s fallen into, all are hers which she has shared in this vulnerable story of what a week in the life of someone with mental illness can be like.

When creating In Body I Trust, Lauren had to revisit difficult memories she had suppressed from her days of backpacking. But once she began reading her own words, it was as if a light had been turned on in the dark. She was no longer the woman who wrote those journal entries. Her perspective had shifted as she read the entries from the eyes of the woman she had become. 

Lauren decided to turn these letters of apology, notes to her future self, and questions of higher power into something tangible. She created Your Wild Journal so others could have a means of looking at their lives from a new perspective, to heighten creativity, and learn to love themselves a little more every day.

Her goal with every book is to provide a sense of hope and to reaffirm the actuality that no one is ever alone. During a time of isolation, we can shift that perspective towards solitude, reflection, and perseverance. Now, more than ever, there are virtual ways for others to connect and find support through all types of mental health issues, including safe spaces online for marginalized whom the system has failed time and time again.

The message behind all of Lauren’s work is simple: You are not alone. You are worthy of love. You are not alone.

To learn more about Lauren Dow, Your Wild Journal, and the release of In Body I Trust, visit laurendow.com and follow her journey of self-love and recovery on her Instagram @laurendowwrites or on Facebook @laurendowwrites.