A beautifully written and darkly funny journey through the
world of the allergic.
Like twelve million other Americans, Sandra Beasley suffers
from food allergies. Her allergies—severe and
lifelong—include dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts,
cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias,
pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard. Add to that
mold, dust, grass and tree pollen, cigarette smoke, dogs,
rabbits, horses, and wool, and it’s no wonder Sandra felt
she had to live her life as “Allergy Girl.” When butter is
deadly and eggs can make your throat swell shut, cupcakes
and other treats of childhood are out of the question—and so
Sandra’s mother used to warn guests against a toxic,
frosting-tinged kiss with “Don’t kill the birthday girl!”
It may seem that such a person is “not really designed to
survive,” as one blunt nutritionist declared while visiting
Sandra’s fourth-grade class. But Sandra has not only
survived, she’s thrived—now an essayist, editor, and
award-winning poet, she has learned to navigate a world in
which danger can lurk in an unassuming corn chip. Don’t Kill
the Birthday Girl is her story.
With candor, wit, and a journalist’s curiosity, Sandra draws
on her own experiences while covering the scientific,
cultural, and sociological terrain of allergies. She
explains exactly what an allergy is, describes surviving a
family reunion in heart-of-Texas beef country with her
vegetarian sister, delves into how being allergic has
affected her romantic relationships, exposes the dark side
of Benadryl, explains how parents can work with schools to
protect their allergic children, and details how people with
allergies should advocate for themselves in a restaurant.
A compelling mix of memoir, cultural history, and science,
Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl is mandatory reading for the
millions of families navigating the world of allergies—and a
not-to-be-missed literary treat for the rest of us.
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