Gluten Free Girl

I just returned from the Gluten Free Girl aka Shauna James Ahern’s book signing and reading at the fabulous Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver.

Shauna is a true Healthy Discovery! In 2005 Shauna was missing weeks of work. She was an English teacher in Seattle who felt lousy most of the time. Multiple bouts of pneumonia, chronic fatigue, achy joints, pain and headaches were a few of her many symptoms. Doctors performed cat scans, X-rays, and abdominal surgery. Through all this they found “nothing” wrong with her. Finally, in her own research she discovered something called celiac disease. When she asked her doctor to test her for it, he refused; he said it wasn’t that common. Thankfully Shauna listened to her own instincts and went to another doctor for a second opinion. She did indeed have celiac disease, and she learned it is actually very common. It is estimated that 1 in 133 people have celiac disease! She immediately stopped eating all wheat gluten and became healthy for the first time in years.

It is now her mission to help others who are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease. Side note, I myself stopped eating wheat gluten in October 2006. While I don’t have celiac disease I have sat through a decade worth of medical nutrition conferences. The medical doctors in the know have warned against the ill effects for many people who eat wheat gluten. At least 250 symptoms and physical problems are associated with eating gluten. There is enough scientific evidence (I will write more about gluten soon) that I voluntarily chose to not eat gluten anymore.

My professional and personal interest in gluten-free eating led me to Shauna’s Gluten Free Girl blog . Thousands of people read and follow her on-line journey each day. She is a captivating writer and tonight she proved to be a vibrant, articulate speaker as well.

She read excerpts from her book Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back…And How You Can Too. She describes in beautiful detail how she fell into passionate delight with “luscious and sumptuous” food after being diagnosed with celiac disease. She left behind years of processed food, white flour, sugar and chemicals. She rediscovered the art of cooking and eating from a large selection of really good food. It helps that she has married a chef who cooks mouth watering delights; but that’s the second half of her story.

Shauna was ready to swear off dating. She couldn’t seem to find anyone (and she definitely tried). She sent out an email to friends when she turned thirty-nine. The email announced the preparation for her three-day, fortieth birthday bash for the next year. Her on-line dating subscription was due to run out in five days and she said, “To Hell with the Wedding Party.” Then the day before her account closed, the email came. An executive chef from a well respected Seattle restaurant responded to her ad. He said; “If a man was to prepare a meal for you, what would you consider the ideal meal?”

This was her reply, “Honestly, it would be this: one he made with love. With his own hands. In season, beautifully seasoned. Made to connect, every taste an experience, meant to be eaten mindfully. Surprising tastes. Wholly unexpected and familiar at the same time. It would taste of laughter”.

Shauna and the Chef (as she blissfully refers to him in her blog) fell head over heels in love and got married July 2007. He was in the audience tonight and he beamed as she read from her book and told her story. He is a proud and a loving supporter of her journey. They went to Italy for their honeymoon and ate gluten free the whole time. Shauna says Italy is amazing in regards to cooking without wheat flour. Italians have many gluten-free options and variety because 10% of Italians are gluten intolerant.

Gluten Free Girl, formally referred to as “sick girl” by her friends, tattooed YES! on her wrist. It’s a reminder of her favorite literary passage in Ulysses, by James Joyce. Shauna is so grateful to be healthy and alive! She willingly says, Yes! Yes! Yes! to life and everything it brings to her. Since her physical turnaround she has published her book; which is quickly becoming a huge success. She married a man who was well worth waiting 40 years for. She is working on her second book, planning more cooking tours and expanding her website. She’ll be in LA next month and many other cities this year. Check out her website to see if she’ll be in your area.

I can’t wait to read my autographed copy of her book. It’s Shauna’s personal journey through food, recipes, stories and love!