Anna Selina Westin lived in Chaska, MN, most of her life. She was born on November 27, 1978 and she died on February 17, 2000 as a direct result of anorexia, a deadly disease that affects approximately eight million Americans. After struggling with anorexia for five years, Anna committed suicide at the age of 21.

Anna graduated from Chaska High School in 1997 and was a student at the University of Oregon. She loved life and had many interests and talents including music, photography, hiking, backpacking, reading and writing, fishing, travel, and best of all, time spent with family and friends. She was thoughtful, compassionate and generous with her time. She did volunteer work and loved being with people. She will be remembered for her ability to connect with people and for her beautifully decorated cards and letters which she sent out to family and friends throughout her life. She had a talent for making everyone feel special and important.

Anna's family is very proud of her accomplishments, including her hard work to overcome anorexia. Anna was suffering from a serious illness that is often fatal and needs to be treated like other life-threatening diseases. The duration of the illness, the high cost of treatment, the lack of knowledge and understanding about eating disorders and the immense suffering they cause have prompted Anna's family to speak openly about her life and death in hopes that it will help other families. They also believe that more research needs to be done into the causes of the disease; more effective prevention and treatments must be developed; managed care must be forced to provide the necessary treatments.