Pork Belly Tacos with a Side of Anxiety: My Journey Through Depression, Bulimia, and Addiction

In Pork Belly Tacos with a Side of Anxiety, Yvonne Castañeda shares vibrant stories of her childhood growing up in Miami as the daughter of humble immigrants from Mexico and Cuba . . . and how she came to develop an unhealthy relationship with food.

To help ease her mami's nervios, Yvonne becomes a perfectionist from a young age, achieving high grades at school and mastering the piano. But as her Cuban family members openly make comments about her awkward desarrollo, or puberty, Yvonne enters a new phase of self-consciousness that begins her obsession with weight.

She abandons the piano for the high school cheerleading team, and reinvents herself, becoming both skinny and popular. However, as a first-generation adolescent born in the United States, Yvonne wrestles with the conflict between the cultural norms of her Hispanic/Latino heritage and American societal expectations.

Plagued by doubt and low self-esteem, Yvonne begins a vicious cycle of weight gain and loss, as she battles Bulimia Nervosa. Beleaguered by feelings of guilt, shame, and inferiority, she develops anxiety, depression, and a reliance on dangerous coping mechanisms.

Ultimately, sage advice from her dear abuela in Guadalajara, Mexico, guides Yvonne to a realization that shifts her perspective of herself and the purpose of her life, providing a foundation for inner peace, and la solución to her past struggles.

Born in Los Angeles to Mexican and Cuban parents, Castañeda was raised in Miami, where she eventually earned a BA in International Relations from Florida International University. She has worked in the restaurant, cruise line, education and hotel industry, and was contracted as a linguist with the Department of Justice. Having suffered from Bulimia Nervosa for over 15 years, Castañeda developed a passion for fitness and later pursued a career in the fitness industry, in which she worked as a Personal Trainer and General Manager for over ten years.

Currently, Castañeda is a Licensed Psychotherapist in Massachusetts (LICSW) and an Adjunct Professor of Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and Online Facilitator of BC School of Theology and Ministry. Aside from her own lived experiences, Castañeda has worked extensively with the underserved Hispanic/Latino population as a behavioral health clinician.

Castañeda is an iPEC Certified Life Coach, a Registered Yoga Teacher, a Corrective Exercise Specialist, a Kettlebell Coach and a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate.