Dawn Lerman is a board-certified nutrition expert and a contributor to the New York Times Well Blog. Her company, Magnificent Mommies, provides nutrition education to students, teachers, and corporations. She lives in New York City with her two children, Dylan and Sofia.Lerman's new book is My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love and Family, with Recipes.
Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:
I have always been a fan of diaries and memoirs. My favorite book as a child was the Diary of Anne Frank. I would read, and re- read the same sentences over, and over as I world disappear into her little annex, her world.Visit Dawn Lerman's New York Times blog and Facebook page.
“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” – Anne Frank
“Although I'm only fourteen, I know quite well what I want, I know who is right and who is wrong. I have my opinions, my own ideas and principles, and although it may sound pretty mad from an adolescent, I feel more of a person than a child, I feel quite independent of anyone.”
Her words inspired me to live better, to appreciate more, and to find my own solace in the pages of my own journal.
I just finished reading Autumn Balloon by Kenny Porpora and It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell. Both of these memoirs deal with the effects of growing up in toxic homes, riddled with addiction and turmoil,where the lines between parent and child are blurred. The main characters in each story eventually thrive and rise above the odds.
Growing up with a 450-pound dad who battled food addiction and a wanna-be actress mom who was not present in the way I needed, I really related to the despair, loneliness, and desire that these two protagonist faced. I laughed. I cried. I called my sister quoting the beautiful pages filled with gut-wrenching raw dialogue. The impact of their stories and their words stayed with me weeks after finishing. In the words of my ad man dad, "You've come along way baby."
--Marshal Zeringue
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