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by Aneela K. Idnani (Author), Marcus Lemonis (Foreword by)
A piercingly honest and vulnerable memoir of one person's journey to heal from a hidden mental health disorder, find her purpose, and bring awareness to others.
Aneela Idnani has a secret to tell--a secret that she's held onto for more than twenty-five years. Starting at the age of twelve and continuing into adulthood, she has struggled with chronic hair pulling, also known as trichotillomania. In this compelling memoir, Aneela shares her story of living on the sidelines with a misunderstood and underdiagnosed mental health disorder, her attempted suicide as a result, and how she ultimately found peace and purpose.
Aneela's hair pulling was subconscious and compulsive. As she grew older, she learned to hide this "bad habit" from her family and friends. She struggled with shame and guilt. And she felt very, very alone. After her father's death from leukemia, her urge to pull intensified. And after her first pregnancy, her mental health began a frightening downward spiral. That's when Aneela made the life-changing decision to spread awareness about the disorder, and she and her husband created the HabitAware program.
By shining a much-needed light on body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), Aneela encourages fellow sufferers to come out of hiding and into healing. Sharing the insights and strategies that helped her recover, Aneela takes the reader on a profound journey from the depths of confusion, fear, and shame to a place of hope, healing, and purpose.
Author Biography
Aneela K. Idnani grew up hiding a disorder of compulsive hair pulling (trichotillomania), and is now an outspoken mental health advocate raising awareness of this very common, yet little-known, condition. Turning this pain into purpose, Aneela cofounded HabitAware and coinvented HabitAware's Keen2 smart bracelet that uses patented gesture detection to bring awareness to unwanted body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), including hair pulling (trichotillomania), skin picking (dermatillomania), and nail biting (onychophagia). Awareness empowers you to retrain your brain to healthier soothing mechanisms. HabitAware is a TIME Magazine Best Invention, Fast Company "World Changing Idea," and is supported by research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation.
Aneela is a TEDx and keynote speaker, author, Well+Good "Changemaker," and among The Business Journals' "100 Rising Stars." Aneela was professor of entrepreneurship at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), a member of Women Presidents Organization (WPO), and she has served on the advisory boards of LaunchMN, a government-based economic program, and BETA.MN, a startup community nonprofit. She holds a board position at Asian Mental Health Collective nonprofit, and founded BFRB Changemakers--a nonprofit that centers lived experience and strives to reduce suffering, improve access to care, support the community, and help them enjoy life.
Through her journey with trichotillomania, losing her dad to leukemia, and her experience with breast cancer, Aneela has learned that pain has purpose and meeting life's challenges with love is life's greatest accomplishment.
Foreword writer Marcus Lemonis is an entrepreneur, investor, and television personality known for helping businesses grow and thrive. He is executive chairman of Beyond and chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam. Widely recognized for CNBC's The Profit and FOX's The Fixer, he is known for his practical approach to business leadership and transformation.
