NEW YORK — New York City Council Speaker and Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn says she struggled in the past with bulimia and alcoholism.
In an interview with the New York Times ( ), Quinn says her bingeing and purging began when she was 16 while caring for her mother who was dying of cancer. http://nyti.ms/10UFf5v
Quinn says at the time she believed if she was a perfect daughter her mother might get better. She says that meant being thinner and prettier and getting better grades.
Her mother died when she was a high school junior.
Quinn says after 10 years of battling bulimia she entered a Florida rehabilitation center at age 26.
The 46-year-old Quinn says she doesn’t want to be seen as a victim, but hopes others will follow her example of openness.