Susan Peirce Thompson knows something about addiction. Starting at age 14, she lurched from addiction to addiction, finally getting clean and sober at age 20. Years later, in grad school, she had become obese, and found that she was powerless to control – or even understand – her cravings and binges.

Unlike drugs, food was a must-have; she couldn’t simply abstain. When she discovered a method that had been refined, trial-and-error fashion, by food addicts in the 12-step community, she jumped on board and quickly went from size 16 to size 4.

Susan is now a tenured psychology professor with a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and teaches a college course on the psychology of eating.