Gluten-free Girl - Book Review

This book not only opened a completely new way of eating for me but it also gave me a new subject to integrate into my writing. You see, I always wanted to add food critic to my list of writing accomplishments. I have even read several books on how to write about food. Somehow though, I felt inadequate, not really knowing how to explain the tastes, smells, textures and so forth. After reading Gluten-free Girl, I now understand why. It was because I have never really tasted food. Oh sure, I have been to restaurants both of American and ethnic cuisines (Indian being my favorite). However, I still needed to be taught how to experience what I was consuming. Maybe that was part of the dilemma also; I was just consuming them rather than working my way through the layers and savoring every last intricate detail of each luscious ingredient.

You may be wondering why I chose to review a book on gluten-free food though. It is very simple. A few months ago, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, something I had never even heard of before. I also learned what part celiac disease plays in leaving me lactose intolerant as well.

Shauna's story spoke to me personally, as it she wrote about the similar things that I had experienced in my life and never understood. I could relate to the "TV dinners, boxes of macaroni and cheese, tuna casserole from scratch, sugary cereals in the cabinet where the opened but almost full box of Grape Nuts sat in the back, cans of Campbell soups and fried bologna sandwiches on bread slathered with margarine. We certainly shared a "brand name childhood". I am sure many who are reading this did as well.

Gluten-free Girl to me represents a love story. After thirty-some years of suffering from an "unknown" disease, accompanied by countless medical tests and unexplainable exhaustion (sleeping 18 hours per day at one point), she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease. Instead of falling into a depression about the foods she would never be able to eat again, she transformed and literally fell in love with those that she could eat. She began to take everything to new and exciting levels, which even she never thought were possible.

Reading her love affair with food sparked something deep within me. I wanted to experience that intense love and make it my own. Besides helping me to lead a healthier life and stay gluten free, Shauna opened up a world of possibilities for me through her memoir. After learning how to experiment with food, drink in the aromas of spices, fruits and vegetables (when they are fresh, untainted (organic) and in season), sauces, fresh baked bread hot from the oven, and many different wonderful varieties of fish, poultry and meat dishes, I too will FINALLY be able to write about food the way I've always wanted too.

Shauna covers everything from the definition of celiac disease, to the description of the symptoms to recognizing the disguises gluten takes on as other ingredients. She gives wonderful advice and incorporates tantalizing, mouth-watering recipes. (If you want to see the photos of these amazing creations, please visit her Website {see sidebar})

The reader of Gluten-free Girl travels with Shauna on her journey to a healthier and happier life from that of her somewhat abnormal childhood to her adult years, which were spent between the US and Europe. She even lets us in on how she met the love of her life aka "The Chef", which brought her more joy than she ever could have imagined. It is definitely a book that you will not want to put down until you have finished it. It took me two sessions, only because it was 3 am when I finished the first and needed to get up four hours later. It is also a masterpiece that I will read again and not just for the recipes, although it will be certainly be one of the most utilized books I own for that purpose too.

KUDOS to Shauna James Ahern, not only for her passion for food and writing, but for her compassion for others like herself that led her to write the story of "how I found the food that loves me back ... And how you can too."