Time Line Autobiography for Victoria BidWell Page 2
Victoria BidWell Page 2
hostility and feigned happiness, rather than healthy affection. Not only is there a lack of spiritual values in The Family, but Victor's hostility toward "things religious" and Marie's non-directedness result in an atheistic, unwholesome environment. In the years to follow, Victoria would repeatedly seek self-help paradigms and psychotherapeutic help. Upon sharing the intimate details of her life over the years, the therapists have concurredthat Victoria had lived a childhood, classic of a script to create such a confused mental state that few ever rise above to become more than wards of the state or marginally functional.
1960 Marie, a once healthy, 5'6", 150-pound woman, becomes incapacitated with cancer, submits to 3 major surgeries, endures radiation therapy. In 1962, she dies weighing 80 pounds, with a deep hole burned into her abdomen. With her 4 sisters moved on to college and/or marriage, Vickey is left to care for Marie, do all housecleaning, do all grocery shopping and meal preparation, keep the books and run parts for Victor's business. During the 14 days following Marie's death, Victoria eats her way from 165 pounds to 195 pounds as a means to deal with the pain. This 3-year period of suffering leaves emotional scars in Victoria concommitant with a full-blown eating disorder and serves as 1 of the driving forcesfor her dedication to helping Health Seekers.
1961 Vickey wins, over 4 contenders, the contest for Skagit Valley Fair Queen.
1963 - 1965 Vickey attends Skagit Valley Junior College and graduates with honors. 1965 Vickey marries high school sweetheart, Tony Senff; and they attend the University of Washington. 1966 Vickey and Tony move to Bellingham, Washington; and Vickey graduates with honors from Western Washington State College with a teaching major in English, minor in Linguistics.
1967 - 1977 Vickey realizes she is a natural-born teacher and loves the student-teacher process. She teaches English, Speech, Drama, Debate, and Interpersonal Communication to high school students in Ferndale and Sedro Woolley, Washington. She writes plays and puts them on with her students. She organizes Christmas baskets for needy families, coaches drill team, etc., etc., etc.
1976 Vickey attends Dr. Shelton's Health School in Austin, Texas. Here, she receives her formal introduction to Natural Hygiene. She studies Dr. Shelton's books and receives a vision and a calling to spend the remainder of her life bringing the message of Natural Hygiene to Americans. She meets Dr. V. V. Vetrano who becomes her lifelong friend, inspiration and role model, mentor, editor, and business associate. Radiantly healthy, Vickey returns home, leaves the marriage, moves back to The Barn, and continues her self-study of Natural Hygiene. 1977 This is Vickey's last year teaching English as she goes to night school, taking science classes required to get into chiropractic college. 1978 Vickey attends Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Oregon, and receives the highest grades in a class of 70 students. She loses her focus and drops out at the end of 1 year.
1979 - 1984 Fraught with emotional immaturity, Vickey drops the attempt to rise to her calling and pursues Godless, thrill-seeking, which includes a year of back-packing by herself in Mexico, 3 years of bar-maiding, and 1 year of topless dancing. This pursuit ends after involvement with an alcoholic cowboy who nearly beats her to death in Mexico and damages her hearing. She realizes her selfish, escapist lifestyle will soon be the end of her: she decides she must mend her wicked ways.
1984 Vickey becomes a Christian. In 1986, she drops "Vickey Frances Bidwell" and becomes "Victoria BidWell" while among a group of women at a Christian seminar. In 1987, she goes through
