Don't Kill the Birthday Girl

Have y'all read Don't Kill the Birthday Girl?  It's my new fave, by Sandra Beasley.  While some of us with Irritable Bowel Disease have food allergies, all of us have food intolerances. In my book, that means we all can empathize with the author's poignant, and often humorous efforts scanning menus praying for an option she can eat, scratching her head in higher end or ethnic restaurants where ingredients can be vague, and scrambling to fit in.

My own list of food allergies include soy, legumes and some nuts.  My list of intolerances are massive.... gluten, fruit, dairy, and so many others.

It inspires me to write a similar book for Crohnies - what do you think?!  Do we need our own story?  Comment and let me know!

The overview from Good Reads:

"Like twelve million other Americans, Sandra Beasley suffers from food allergies. Her allergies—severe and lifelong—include dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard. Add to that mold, dust, grass and tree pollen, cigarette smoke, dogs, rabbits, horses, and wool, and it’s no wonder Sandra felt she had to live her life as “Allergy Girl.” When butter is deadly and eggs can make your throat swell shut, cupcakes and other treats of childhood are out of the question—and so Sandra’s mother used to warn guests against a toxic, frosting-tinged kiss with “Don’t kill the birthday girl!”

It may seem that such a person is “not really designed to survive,” as one blunt nutritionist declared while visiting Sandra’s fourth-grade class. But Sandra has not only survived, she’s thrived—now an essayist, editor, and award-winning poet, she has learned to navigate a world in which danger can lurk in an unassuming corn chip. Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl is her story.

With candor, wit, and a journalist’s curiosity, Sandra draws on her own experiences while covering the scientific, cultural, and sociological terrain of allergies. She explains exactly what an allergy is, describes surviving a family reunion in heart-of-Texas beef country with her vegetarian sister, delves into how being allergic has affected her romantic relationships, exposes the dark side of Benadryl, explains how parents can work with schools to protect their allergic children, and details how people with allergies should advocate for themselves in a restaurant.

A compelling mix of memoir, cultural history, and science, Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl is mandatory reading for the millions of families navigating the world of allergies—and a not-to-be-missed literary treat for the rest of us."

-Recognized as a top summer read by SELF, HEALTH, PREVENTION, and PEOPLE-

-A top-5 FINALIST for the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards in “Food & Cooking”-

“Winning, wise and humorous, you’ll think twice when someone says, ‘Pass the peanuts.’”
—Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of Don’t Sing at the Table

“Brilliantly combining her personal narrative with medical research and cultural analyses, Beasley’s memoir is ultimately an exploration of how we negotiate our vulnerable, permeable selves in a world that is filled equally with joy and harm.”
—Richard McCann, author of Mother of Sorrows

“In sparkling prose, Beasley has written a memoir that becomes a remarkable mélange—undeniably informative, and a real pleasure—both hip and wickedly smart.”
—Alex Lemon, author of Happy: A Memoir and Fancy Beasts

“Sandra Beasley’s book is both hilarious and moving. It’s about what it’s like to live in fear of hidden parmesan, but it’s also about teenage rebellion, romance and George Washington Carver. Recommended for everyone, no matter what their immune system is like.”
—A.J. Jacobs, author of My Life as an Experiment and The Year of Living Biblically