Allergic Girl Tackles Tough Issues - Book Review

I had the pleasure of meeting Sloane Miller, author of Allergic Girl, Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies, at a recent meeting of the Hudson Valley Celiac Support Group, where she spoke to the group and signed copies of her new book.

While most of us that are food allergy parents worry (and write about) issues like kids going to school, and birthday parties, and how to deal with issues in the classroom, Sloane tackles the emotional side of food allergies.

Sloane is a true powerhouse, but she wasn’t always. In Allergic Girl she writes about feeling left out and her own panic attacks and concerns about food safety when she was a teenager. She writes about having to deal with her food allergies when they were less prevalent than today, and feeling the need to hide her allergies when she met new people. She shares her own journey of empowerment and taking control over her food allergies. She shares the strategies she has developed for dealing with some key issues including:

• Dating (and kissing) with food allergies.
• How to deal with family members, friends, and others who just really don’t get it.
• Eating out (which she does quite often and quite successfully).
• And most importantly -- how to become your own best advocate and find allies along the way.

This is a book that every teen and young adult with food allergies should read. As my college age food-allergic son prepares to really go off on his own for the first time, I’m thrilled to be able to share Sloane’s story with him.