Do you ever feel like a total freak? I think most vegans have felt that way at one time or another. Whether it is in the company of family who still believe you are going through a phase or friends who tease you about being a plant killer, going vegan can make you feel like the only compassionate person in a world full of ignorance.
That is why reading Vegan Freak by Bob and Jenna Torres was refreshing. Whilst I was reading I felt like I was in good company and not the only one who has to deal with meat-pushing family and friends. In fact there were many moments in the book when I found myself thinking, “Yes! I have felt that way!” The book is written in a conversational style and despite dealing with serious subject matter the authors have the talent of injecting a healthy dose of humor into their writing. Some parts of the book had me laughing out loud.
Vegan Freak appealed to me because it is aimed at people who are vegan, or who want to become vegan for ethical reasons. Sometimes it feels like all the books on veganism are about health, weight loss and spiritual benefits. I’m not knocking those things, but it was nice to read a book by people who are vegan for the same reasons I am – for the animals.
An important point that was drummed home throughout Vegan Freak was that “meek vegans suffer”. As a natural people pleaser I sometimes find it hard to tell people I am vegan. It’s not that I’m ashamed (quite the contrary), but I hate putting them out or making them feel bad. Vegan Freak showed me that I can be polite and still let people know about my dietary requirements. In ‘Chapter 2 – In Which We Get All AR On You’ the authors discuss the basics of why people become vegan and I surprised myself by learning something new about gross hidden animal ingredients that I wasn’t aware of before. I guess I will be checking ingredients even more carefully in the future.
If you have a sense of humor and you aren’t afraid of laughing at yourself you will love this book, but if you take yourself too seriously perhaps it won’t be for you. I noticed amongst the positive reviews on Amazon a few negative ones that didn’t seem to get the joke. It is important to remember that one book cannot cover everything on veganism and animal rights. Vegan Freak is not an in depth analysis of animal rights. However, it does have a wonderful resource section, which has given me loads of new ideas for my book wish list.
So for vegans present and future who want to gain some skills for living in a non-vegan world I recommend you add this book to your vegan and animal rights collection and embrace your inner Vegan Freak.
Do you want to buy Vegan Freak? Click here.
