Let’s start straight away with my extremely bias. I am on the Allergic Living Magazine Team and I love every bit of it and am quite proud of the good work produced (well beyond my own little slice). What thrilled me was that I have been trolling Barnes and Noble for years for magazines addressing food allergies. This is how it usually plays out: I meet a friend for coffee at the store, I arrive early so I can visit the magazine section. I look for new magazines about cooking and then health. I then scoff that even though Allergic Living Magazine made its’ way to the US, it is not available in my local book store. I stomp off huffing that at an estimated 15 million Americans surely deserve a magazine too. Next, I go to my local independent bookstore and ask if they are carrying yet. They say no, but I am more forgiving. The store is located in a darling restored Victorian styled home and they serve espresso.
Thankfully, my ritual changed this weekend when I bought a copy of Allergic Living Magazine just to “show” Barnes and Noble that yes, there are folks like me out there who really want to see magazines addressing allergies, asthma, eczema, Celiac Disease, etc. I felt so proud with the cover picture of Sarah Jessica Parker on my little table as I waited for my friend to arrive. My pride wasn’t as a contributor, but as a person who lives in this world and who enjoys feeling normal.
Times have changed over the last 16 years that I’ve been in his food allergy asthma world and each day my family becomes and feels more mainstream when we stroll into a CVS Pharmacy and see Allermates being sold or when we hit Costco to find Enjoy Life Foods readily available. Allergic Living Magazine hitting Barnes and Noble is symbolic to me that our world is one step deeper into mainstream America.
Disclaimer: I contribute to Allergic Living Magazine as the Product Editor and anywhere else I can be useful. I am writing this post since I’m just soooooo flat out happy. I wasn’t paid to be happy or to write anything nice. I just am joyful today. Also, I can’t help but add that I have had so many non-allergic people ask me if I had seen this issue. You and I don’t need a celebrity to raise our food allergy awareness, but apparently many others do and it is working. This pleases me to no end.
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