(The Vegetarian’s Survival Handbook) Living Among Meat Eaters

by Carol J. Adams

I’m a vegetarian wannabe, and my husband is a vegetarian wanna-wanna-oughta-shoulda-be, whose craving for meat always wins out. We will then end up at a restaurant where the only vegetarian items are my glass of water and the desserts.I heard of this book through some vegetarian online forums, and figure I will need it.

While this book has ammunition of comebacks to comments from meat eaters, the author states very clearly that smart retorts will only serve to alienate people further from vegetarians. She offers wise answers to defuse the tense situations. By categorizing different types of meat eater defense, she helps us target the correct response. There is also practical advice on handling situations when you have to eat out with a group of meat eaters.
Adams’s solution for treating meat eaters is to see them as blocked vegetarians. I don’t know if she was the one who coined the term, but it does help swift our view and consequently our reaction. I do like her attitude a lot better than some vegetarians who plainly display an air of hostility and superiority to meat eaters.

The 3-Day Energy Fast

By Pamela SerureThis book is about a lot more than a fasting diet. There is a large section on preparation, to prepare your mind and body for the fast, (in fact, the actual fast is only the last third of the book) and a detailed section on post-fast. Besides several recipes of juices and broth, there are also a variety of yoga postures, meditation or guided imagery scripts, spiritual rituals such as journaling and making an altar, breathing exercises, as well as practices such as body scrubbing, leisure bathing, walking and affirmation. Even if you do not go on a fast, you are unlike to walk away from this book empty handed.

I did not follow the suggested menu. There is breakfast drink, mid morning drink, lunch drink… It may be good for someone very uncomfortable with the idea of doing with food; otherwise, as a reader commented on amazon.com, she felt like the whole day was spent juicing, washing the juicer, and juicing again. I opt for the juice only in the morning.

The author goes to great length to be encouraging and comforting. You will feel good, you will feel energized when you wake up… She does not, however, mention much about what to do if you are not feeling great. Admittedly, I did not follow her diet. If I did, maybe I would have really felt great. I did remember that when I had my first fast, I threw up a lot on the second and third day. On the third day of my second fast, I sure did not feel peachy in the morning. If I were basing my diet on this book, I would have found no comfort in her upbeat encouragement. Or if I were gnawing my fingers with my craving for chips or ice cream, I probably could not sit still for some journaling and meditation on my relationship with food.