logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2024
24m 2s

The perfect trap

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Anna fights her eating disorder, knowing she needs to be healthy if she wants to be a mum.

She spent half her life dealing with the condition, until she was finally diagnosed and treated. Now she is working on getting better, trying to appreciate the joys in life again, and regain the spark she feels she lost. She writes a letter to her future daughter about how to avoid the “perfect trap” in which she found herself.

Letter writer: Anna

Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?

If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter

And please leave ratings and reviews.

You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice

Up next
Jul 4
Leaving for college
Shelley’s daughter leaves for college – it’s a thrilling moment for everyone, but at the same time there’s a sense of loss. What will happen to their family when one piece of it is missing?So Shelley writes her daughter a letter with all the advice and memories she wants her to t ... Show More
25m 38s
Jun 27
Grieving you
Paola’s daughter Camilla was beautiful, with curly hair and big eyes like her mother. She loved bath time and eating mangoes. But she also had a severe mental and physical disability, and died aged 15 after nearly two years of palliative care.Paola listened to Dear Daughter while ... Show More
26m 3s
Jun 20
Don’t fear menopause
Annice Mukherjee is a hormone expert – she’s spent her career helping women deal with menopause. But when she develops breast cancer at 41, she becomes a patient rather than a doctor.Annice writes a letter to her daughter about how her professional experience helped her deal with ... Show More
27m 2s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 9
Mom’s Gone QAnon
In part two of our no contact series, the girlies zero in on the emotional and psychological fallout of cutting family ties, discussing the rise of no contact as a cultural norm, the complicated path to reconciliation, and the intra-polarization of the American family. Digression ... Show More
1h 18m
May 7
A Mother’s Fierce, Extravagant Love (Encore)
In honor of Mother’s Day this week, we revisit the story of one mom who went to extraordinary lengths to make sure her daughter always felt her love, even after she was gone. Each time Genevieve Kingston reached a milestone — a birthday, her first period, high school graduation, ... Show More
22m 18s
Aug 2024
Your Crappy Childhood Ft Anna Runkle, Aka Crappy Childhood Fairy - Ep 329
Today's guest has come hotly requested by many of you and we're so happy to dissect the not-so-happy topic of childhood trauma with her. Anna Runkle, aka the one and only @CrappyChildhoodFairy , is the author of the upcoming book "Re-Regulated" (releases October 1, 2024 - preorde ... Show More
1h 13m
Jul 2024
How your childhood affects your parenting style
Petrified that your parenting is screwing your kid up? Crying out for support from people around you? Fearne’s pulled together some stories and advice from Happy Place guests who’ll make you feel more empowered and less alone in raising children. Not a parent? Not to worry! You’l ... Show More
37m 4s
Mar 2025
193. The Good Daughter Syndrome: Help for Daughters of Narcissistic, Borderline, or Difficult Mothers with Katherine Fabrizio M.A., L.C.M.H.C.
Do you constantly seek your mother’s approval at the expense of your own happiness? Do you struggle with boundaries or feel emotionally trapped in your relationship with her? In this episode, I sit down with Catherine Fabrizio, psychotherapist and author of The Good Daughter Synd ... Show More
49m 32s
Oct 2024
Brutally Anna Trailer
Welcome to Brutally Anna, a podcast about finding love, losing love, and all the things we think about a lot, but don’t talk about enough. I’m your host, Anna Kai aka maybeboth across social media, here to remind you that life can be beautiful, even when it’s freaking brutal. On ... Show More
1m 26s
Apr 9
Midlife Isn’t a Crisis, It’s a Comeback: Maddie Corman on Being Accidentally Brave
Description: Maddie Corman is a seasoned American actress and playwright that you’ve seen in classic films including Some Kind of Wonderful, Maid in Manhattan, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and our favorite television shows like Law and Order, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The ... Show More
1h 21m
Dec 2024
the DNA match
Hiii shooshies!  Today, we’re tracing the family tree. Yep, we’re talking DNA tests, baby. And oh my god, do we have family drama to unpack!!! What happens when you discover a secret half-brother on your paternal side? Do you question your dad about it? And how do you support a b ... Show More
41m 26s
Jun 2024
My Mom’s Hiding a Gambling Addiction
On this episode, we hear about:·      A woman debating if she should tell her stepfather about her mom's risky gambling addiction·      A woman wondering how to handle a 30-day separation from her husband ·      A woman who wants to set boundaries with her overbearing parents abo ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 2024
STORY: kim
Join me as I read Kim's story. Kim is a survivor of a toxic family, including the emotional abuse of her narcissistic mother. Abandonment, triangulation with her younger brother at the hands of her narcissistic mother, the loss of her father, the lifetime effort to try and ma ... Show More
14m 56s