Mandisa was more than a survivor; she was an icon. An American gospel singer, songwriter, and record producer, she captured hearts on “American Idol” and soared in the music industry, achieving platinum-selling status and winning several Grammy Awards. But behind the accolades, Mandisa battled a profound depression, a struggle she candidly discussed, revealing moments of feeling “so hopeless” she contemplated suicide. She linked her struggles with weight to the abuse she endured, explaining in an interview, “I’m going to a Christian counselor, who has helped me to realize that the root of my weight gain was about the abuse I had when I was a child. I turned to food so that I would get heavier so men wouldn’t look at me, so I wouldn’t be attractive. I was abused by men, boys. I was treating the result and not the root of the problem. You don’t realize it’s one in four girls and one in four boys. And my whole life I never looked at the root issue that I was abused as a child. I was shielding myself and I was dealing with the surface with diets.”

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