Amanda Ray Beard is an Olympic gold medalist.
She attended her first Olympic games in Atlanta at the age of 14. There she won a gold medal and two silver
medals. The media took many photographs
of her approaching the pool carrying her teddy bear. She went on to compete in two more Olympic
games earning her a total of 7 medals. Her
Olympic notoriety was a springboard to her lucrative modeling career. She appeared in magazines such as FHM and
Sports Illustrated. But amidst all of
this fame Amanda was struggling on the inside.
She felt unworthy of her success.
Unbeknownst
to her, she was battling with clinical depression. She hid this struggle from friends and
family. Her parents had no idea what she
was going through. The depression led
her down a dark road. “She became
bulimic, abused drugs and alcohol, and started cutting herself. Only when she
met her future husband, who discovered her cutting herself, did Amanda realize
she needed help.”
Her
new book “In the Water They Can’t See You Cry” describes Amanda’s struggles and
triumphs in overcoming her diagnosis.
She has been currently touring and promoting her book. On April 11th Amanda’s agent Even
Morganstein of PMG Sports tweeted that she “will be announced as a NY Times Best Selling
Author.”
It
is important for people out there who are experiencing clinical depression to
know that they are not alone. It is very
difficult for anyone, let alone someone in the spotlight to bare there sole on
a topic like this. I applaud Amanda for
her bravery in discussing the topic. It
shed light on those who are in the same situation reinforcing that there is in fact light
at the end of the tunnel.
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