Susan Weissman

"Feeding Eden" scared the daylight out of me, I can't fathom being allergic to almost EVERYTHING (dairy, soy, nuts, peanuts, beans, sesame seeds,fruit, salmon, pollen and sulpha drugs) especially as a child. Eden's allergies are just the beginning of his medical issues along with asthma and eczema.

Susan Weissman wrote this book about her son Eden's journey and how the family learned to live a semi normal life. Eden was not diagnosed right away it took about 6 months of seeing pediatricians, allergists, nutritionists, dermatologists, osteopaths, therapists, gastroenterologists and alternative healers. The complexity of Eden's situation effected his whole family but in the end they realized that Eden was just a regular kid who wanted to ride bikes and birthday cake and his friends parties.
"Feeding Eden" is a excellent source of information for people suffering with any type of allergies from the story to the recipes and appendix.… (mer)

Won this book in a LibraryThing giveaway program. I was not exactly sure what think but the idea of reading the book called my attention, having a friend of my own who has a child with food allergies. I was expecting the book to be nothing but clinical speak and medical advances and such but am surprised that it was a lot more personable and relateable than I thought originally. I have since passed the book along to my friend who I am sure will enjoy the read.

Not from a food side of things but growing up I would break out in hives and several years were spent on many many "specialists" who to this day never found out what it was causing me to break out in hives and have difficulty breathing. Multiple allergy tests and needle pricks to test my reaction would turn up nothing, inconclusive result upon inconclusive result. It was frustrating as a child and teenager. I can definitely understand the frustration of a parent dealing with this and was able to identify with the author.

I did at first was put off by the more family personal parts of the book as I wasn't sure initially how it factored into the entire scope of things, but in continuing to read I'm able to say that I'm glad the author put a personal spin on the book which kept me reading.

The book does not shy away from the personal things—the author talks about her cheating on her husband and his cheating on her, through food of course. She also talks about her experiences with other parents whose children suffer from food allergies and the marital issues that can result from the constant stress. She also speaks of her gratitude that her relationship with her husband has been able to withstand the strain, and how though they must work at it, they are a family. Are they dysfunctional? No. Do they have problems, and in abundance at that? Why, yes. But don't we all? While one child suffers from something of more severity than the other at different points in time, it is apparent that she and her husband care deeply for both of their children.… (mer)

Eden Weissman has life threatening food allergies. Feeding Eden: The Trials and Triumphs of a Food Allergy Family written by his mother Susan Weissman is her story of how the family finds a way to be a family while trying to keep Eden safe. The intricacies of food preparation and label reading are candidly described. Pediatricians, specialists, therapists and Early Intervention staff become important participants in the family's life. She writes of the close relationship between food and family. Her daughter does not have food allergies. She describes the strategies she used not to deprive her daughter of being able to partake of her favorite foods. She admits that fear is a constant in both her life and her husband's life- allergic reactions can be unpredictable and require immediate attention. The family focus is not on placing blame for Eden's allergies but on how to improve things.
There is a wealth of information about food allergies , educational resources and agencies provided. This book reads like a novel. The author's conversational style captivated my attention. Through her words the true definition of family and love become very clear.
I received this book for free from LibraryThing Members Giveaway and I give this review of my own free will.… (mer)