As the chief meteorologist for ABC TV, Ginger Zee has been on the scene of almost every recent major weather disaster — hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and weather extremes ranging from the extreme colds of the Boston Blizzard to the searing heat of Death Valley. Her fascination with weather was inspired by a waterspout she saw forming over Lake Michigan. Only 8 at the time, Zee was so intrigued she ran forward, instead of away like everyone else.
But the storms she’s chased were nothing compared to the internal tempests that were wrecking her psyche.
Zee first described her struggles in her 2017 book, "Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One," which she described as “Ginger Lite.” She really goes deep with her newest book, "A Little Closer to Home: How I Found the Calm After the Storm."
Zee, who has a bachelor of science degree in meteorology, with minors in Spanish and mathematics, from Valparaiso University, wasn’t able to translate her achievements into a positive self-image. At her lowest, Zee avoided looking in mirrors, not liking what she saw. Depressed, anorexic and at times suicidal, therapy has helped Zee become stronger.
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At first, when her publisher asked her to write a follow up to "Natural Disasters," she hesitated. But then she watched a "Good Morning, America" replay of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate, during which Blasey Ford alleged she’d been sexually assaulted when a teen by two young men during a party. Zee had been sexually abused and in an abusive relationship, and listening to Blasey Ford, she became convinced that she owed it to people to tell about her experiences in a follow-up book.
“It hit me that not only did I have more stories to tell, but it was one of the most important parts that hadn’t been told yet,” Zee said. “I’m so ready for it now.”
This subject leads to Zee and I discussing how, in the not so distant past, women were often held to blame for sexual harassment or abuse, as in, “if you hadn’t worn that short skirt” or “you shouldn’t have agreed to go to his apartment.”
“That realization was the impetus for me and I started diving really deep with my therapist, no matter how difficult it is,” she said. “Trauma doesn’t leave your body. The shame and the feelings have to go somewhere. What I wasn’t doing is going past my trauma. Once you get past it, life is so much better. There’s so much relief in letting go of the responsibility for something we had no control over.”
These realizations helped Zee.
“I think of my therapist as my personal trainer for the brain,” she said. She sees herself in a much healthier place now that she is able to work through her feelings.
“The shame isn’t on me anymore, that’s how therapy helped,” she said. “So did the Me Too Movement. ... I don’t have to take responsibility for things that I didn’t do and that weren’t my fault. That’s why I knew I had to write this book to help others who are going through what I did.”