Thread by @ICONkcals, ||||: [...]

||<. WHY YOU SHOULD REMEMBER KAREN CARPENTER ,.>||:

((✩ ✰ THREAD ✰ ✩))

trigger warning: eating disorders will be discussed. if you are in recovery or influenceable, reader discretion is greatly advised.

𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞:

Karen was born in New Haven, CT but later moved to California with her family. She enjoyed dancing and by age four, she took ballet classes.

To avoid gym class at her high school she enrolled in band and showed signs of remarkable talent. Not long into practicing she was able to master tempos beyond her years.

She had joined a band called Two plus Two, but the band eventually split after she suggested adding her older brother, Richard Carpenter to the group...

Soon thereafter, her brother established a new band with her, and they went by the name “The Carpenters”...

The two-person band was eventually signed by RCA records.. but they still had a long and rough journey ahead of them.

During a recording session where she was drumming, she was asked to improvise a song. And to everyone’s surprise, she was phenomenal. She has perfect pitch and good tone.

They’d soon call her “One take Karen” because she would only need to sing a song once and get it right.

Not long after, they achieved their first hit “Close to You”

𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬:

Rumors by fans began to circulate that Karen had cancer, when in actuality it was Anorexia Nervosa.

At that time the illness was not well studied and definitely not known by the public.

Some suspect that her ed developed because an article called her chubby. Some say it was due to a failed diet, others say it was a form of self harm.

Regardless, eating disorders give us preoccupations about food and our bodies.

Dangerous, and often illogical, thoughts hide behind goal weights... and it leaves us feeling trapped in an endless cycle.

Despite being formally diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. She used syrups, thyroid medicine and other products as laxitives.

This lead to weakening of heart tissue and other complications.

On February 4, 1982..

Karen Carpenter sadly passed away. Her death shook the world. For the first time ever, eating disorders and the destruction they can cause were brought to the public’s attention...