Beyond the book

First of all, if you’ve just read I’m Not the New Me and are visiting this site for the first time, hello. And yes, I’m a real person. In the two years since the book has been out I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people who didn’t quite realize it wasn’t fiction. Nope, it’s all me.

Second: we have some catching up to do. Most of the events in the book took place from summer 2000 to late 2002 or so, and a lot has happened since the book was published in 2005. The day after INTNM came out I met my boyfriend, Chris, who bought a copy and learned way too much about me in our first month together. A year later we moved into our current apartment near Albany Park in Chicago.

Not everything is good news. My mother passed away in early 2007, a year and a half after she was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was so supportive of the book and of my writing and I hope that one day I can write more about who she really was; the book provided only a glimpse. I miss her every day.

It took a few years, but I gained the weight back. Something about writing your first book really makes you reach for the mac and cheese, I guess. I gave up on Weight Watchers after a few more not-very-successful attempts and last year I turned to a healthier, mostly vegan lifestyle. I’ve lost more than twenty pounds so far and you can read more about it in these entries.

I’m writing other things besides this website. I still do my column for BUST, and I’m a contributor to the True Life Tales feature in the New York Times magazine. I’m working on new books, including a novel. And The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan came out in May 2006, in case you didn’t get enough of those recipe cards.

Any other questions? Write me. Thanks for reading.