Sharing the Rain Cloud Cake I made as part of a Baker’s Challenge by Kara’s Couture Cakes. The challenge was to make a gray dessert signifying what depression feels like to mark the one year anniversary of the Depressed Cake Shop Los Angeles this weekend. I’ve posted my earlier 10 year struggle with an eating disorder that completely controlled and almost ended my life on my personal facebook page, but never spoken about it on a cake site or page. This is a cause very close to my heart and a lot of those feelings are still very near the surface, my heart goes out to anyone struggling with depression or an eating disorder or other mental illness. There is such a stigma attached to the word “mental illness” so many people will not seek help because of the shame and misconception attached to the broad scope of that term. This challenge and the mission of the Depressed Cake Shop is to break those stereotypes, unmask the shame and get people to understand they are not alone, they are not crazy and it’s ok to ask for help. My cake represents the time in my life where there was no light, it felt like no hope and several occasions, I almost decided it wasn’t worth living. But, there is always hope behind the darkness – a bright yellow cake inside the cloud to represent hope and recovery from the darkness of my eating disorder and depression (you can see the cut cake in the second picture). I know this was long – but I wanted to explain the meaning behind the rain cloud! Thanks for reading all the way through xx Shannon