Don't kill the birthday girl: tales from an allergic life

Imagine a birthday cake made without dairy products or eggs. That's what highly allergic author Beasley faces every year hence her friends' and relatives' constant refrain, Now, don't kill the birthday girl. As she notes, she's hardly alone: more than 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with food allergies. She worries about whether she'll add to that tally when she gives birth. Her book is full of interesting (and potentially lifesaving) tidbits: Play-Doh contains wheat. Tempera paints often contain egg. Moisturizing soap may contain soy proteins or cashew oil. Borden used to make Elmer's glue with a milk derivative, casein. And french fries are a good choice for the highly allergic. (There are no hidden nuts, dairy, or eggs in them.) People with wheat allergies need to be careful at communion: a decade ago, Boston's Roman Catholic Church affirmed its decree that rice-based wafers were an unacceptable substitute for the regular wheat-based variety. This information- and anecdote-filled book will be a welcome antidote to the worries and fears endured by families with food allergies.--Springen, Kare. Copyright 2010 Booklist

In this intelligent and witty memoir, poet Beasley (I Was the Jukebox) recounts her lifelong struggle to live a normal life while waging a battle against deadly food allergies. The author is one of "more than 12 million Americans who have been diagnosed with food allergies, a figure that includes almost 4% of all children." The title of this enthralling book is not hyperbole. As little as a kiss or hug from a family member or a friend who had eaten cake or ice cream at a birthday party could cause Beasley to break out in hives or, worse, suffer anaphylactic shock. She calls sherbet "sweet, icy death in a bowl." Beasley details her vigilant parents' never-ending routine for keeping her safe during her childhood until she left for college, how she and her friends coped with "the thousand minor hassles of living with" her food allergies during college, and the perils of eating while traveling. Throughout this thoughtful and well-written book, Beasley closes the knowledge gap surrounding food allergies. She writes entertainingly about the history of allergies, and current research findings; religious issues surrounding food allergies; and processed foods and their hidden ingredients. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Former American Scholar editor and award-winning poet Beasley's debut memoir is a fascinatingthough at times disjointedaccount of living with severe allergies.The author's earliest recollections involved birthdays and the way they highlighted her difference from others. While her mother would give her "Sandra-friendly" treats, she would prepare a cake for everyone else and warn guests not to touch, kiss or hug herhives, anaphylactic shock or death could be the unwelcome result.Needless to say, growing up sensitive to more than a dozen kinds of foods and 10 different kinds of animals and environmental elements was a huge challenge.From babyhood well into adolescence, Beasley and her parents never knew which foods would cause illness.Though her home environment could accommodate her condition, whenever she went outto school, to friends' houses and restaurantsshe could never be certain that the few foods she could safely eat hadn't been tainted with traces of what she couldn't.As a result, from the time she was in elementary school, she had to carry an adult-sized purse loaded with Benadryl, an EpiPen auto-injector and an inhaler.Speaking as the survivor of too-numerous-to-count trips to the emergency room, she writes "[t]here's a reason they're called allergy 'attacks'; you never knew where a food can be lurking." Interspersed with memories of the daily game of "Russian roulette" she was forced to play well into young adulthood are well-researched sections about such neglected topics as the history of allergy identification and treatment, as well as interesting anecdotes about the little-known social exclusions faced by people with allergies. However, Beasley seems to be trying to write two books in one: the first, about her life, and the second about an important topic (food allergies) that deserves greater attention than it has so far received.Uneven but humane and informative.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Imagine a birthday cake made without dairy products or eggs. That's what highly allergic author Beasley faces every year—hence her friends' and relatives' constant refrain, Now, don't kill the birthday girl. As she notes, she's hardly alone: more than 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with food allergies. She worries about whether she'll add to that tally when she gives birth. Her book is full of interesting (and potentially lifesaving) tidbits: Play-Doh contains wheat. Tempera paints often contain egg. Moisturizing soap may contain soy proteins or cashew oil. Borden used to make Elmer's glue with a milk derivative, casein. And french fries are a good choice for the highly allergic. (There are no hidden nuts, dairy, or eggs in them.) People with wheat allergies need to be careful at communion: a decade ago, Boston's Roman Catholic Church affirmed its decree that rice-based wafers were an unacceptable substitute for the regular wheat-based variety. This information- and anecdote-filled book will be a welcome antidote to the worries and fears endured by families with food allergies. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Kiss the birthday girl? Never! Beasley has had such severe allergies her whole life that the mere crumbs clinging to her friends' sticky lips would have sent her to the hospital. Hence her mother's warning, as seen in the title. Yet another poet trying out the memoir form, award winner Beasley (e.g., Barnard Women Poets) offers a cultural study of living the "allergic life" that could appeal to anyone with food allergies (up to 12 million Americans). With a readers' guide.

In this intelligent and witty memoir, poet Beasley (I Was the Jukebox) recounts her lifelong struggle to live a normal life while waging a battle against deadly food allergies. The author is one of "more than 12 million Americans who have been diagnosed with food allergies, a figure that includes almost 4% of all children." The title of this enthralling book is not hyperbole. As little as a kiss or hug from a family member or a friend who had eaten cake or ice cream at a birthday party could cause Beasley to break out in hives or, worse, suffer anaphylactic shock. She calls sherbet "sweet, icy death in a bowl." Beasley details her vigilant parents' never-ending routine for keeping her safe during her childhood until she left for college, how she and her friends coped with "the thousand minor hassles of living with" her food allergies during college, and the perils of eating while traveling. Throughout this thoughtful and well-written book, Beasley closes the knowledge gap surrounding food allergies. She writes entertainingly about the history of allergies, and current research findings; religious issues surrounding food allergies; and processed foods and their hidden ingredients. (June)