Chuckle, Then Contemplate With Me… My Book SUGAR SHOCK! is Featured in This Week’s TIME Magazine

Thanks to TIME magazine’s books correspondent Andrea Sachs, I’ve been smiling, giggling, and even bursting into guffaws since early this morning. The venerable TIME made me laugh? You betcha.

That’s because the distinguished publication spotlighted yours truly’s upcoming book SUGAR SHOCK! in a humorous, but serious article penned by the clever, articulate Sachs, better known as TIME magazine’s "Galley Girl."

Get ready to chuckle first, and then later contemplate the consequences of sugar overload. To do that, you need to go buy TIME’s Oct. 30, 2006 magazine. Next, turn to page 77 for a story titled, "A Sugar-Free Halloween?"

Initially, you’ll probably chortle at the hilarious Halloween scene that a creative designer concocted. Trust me: You want to buy this issue just for the amusing drawing, plus, of course, the snazzy turns of phrases from Andrea.

There, in the "Your Time" section, you’ll see an adorable image of a red-shoed girl, covered in a ghost costume, looking somewhat dazed, while holding up a stalk of broccoli in one hand and an empty Jack-o’-Lantern in the other hand. That drawing alone made me burst into laughter.

Suffice it to say that TIME’s artist and reporter cracked me crack up from the minute I opened that article. Now listen to Andrea’s entertaining remarks:

"Who are these killjoys, arriving at the same time as the trick-or-treaters? Why, they’re the anti-sugar brigade, warning that plain-old table sugar and its gussied up first cousins — honey, molasses, cane sugar, corn syrup and maple syrup — are less than sweet to those who overindulge, and recommending that we stop eating sugar altogether."

(For the record, I’m really not that strict. Yes, in an ideal world, most people would either eat no or very little sugar, but I’m realistic, because desserts and quickie carbs beckon us just about everywhere. Thus, I urge people to look inwards and do Sugary Soul Searching so they can decide if they need to quit sweets entirely or if they can handle polite portions every so often. The dilemma, I’ve found in coaching and running an online support group for sugar addicts, is that most of them find that they just can’t stop. Hence our obesity crisis. For these can’t-just-eat-one folks, one bite of ice cream inevitably leads to a pint or even a gallon. But, on the other hand, many people can easily say "no" after a few bites or even pass up dessert in the first place. That’s why it’s important to learn what kind of relationship you have or want to have with those less-than-nutritious sweets and quickie carbs.)

It’s always heartening to learn about yet another influential physician, Dr. Gott, in this case, who "gets it" that sugar
  can cause devastating health problems. Incidentally, Dr. Gott’s book, which came out in June, is already a best seller. Sure hope that bodes well for my book!

If you’re impatient to see Andrea’s fascinating story before you get the actual magazine, here’s a link to the online version of the piece, but bear in mind that you really need to see it in print to get the full effect. (When you read it on the Internet, you miss out on all the fabulous, funny artwork. You also don’t get to see the cover art of four books, Sugar Blues; Sugar Busters; Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet; and my book SUGAR SHOCK!

By the way, Andrea wrote a pithy description of my book: "Despite the author’s kooky story of having recovered from 44 symptoms of sugar overload, this book, due in December, trots out a Who’s Who of prominent nutritionists who support Bennett’s argument that sugar is the road to physical ruin. The evidence is in, and it’s depressing."

What a nice way of putting it. Thanks, Andrea! Of course, I’d just as soon shun the word "kooky" to describe my story. Rather, in the Halloween spirit, I think it’s more appropriate to dub my story a "spooky" one, because what I went through was scary. Boo!

Incidentally, although the introduction to Andrea’s story was quite funny, c’mon folks, I’m into fun, gratitude, and joie de vivre. What me, a "killjoy" for squashing the Halloween spirit? No way. LOL!

In fact, I don’t tell people to stay away from those Halloween goody bags, as Andrea suggests. Instead, I recommend that people offer non-edible, entertaining treats instead, as you can see from my recent story, which was just picked up by FamiliesOnlineMagazine.com, MomShack.com, DivaVillage.com and Linkup- Parents, and StorkNet.com.

Back to the great story from "Galley Girl" Andrea Sachs. You may be wondering why the phrase, "Galley Girl." Basically, a few months before a book hits bookstores, publishers create a special bound copy (a "galley") to send out to pivotal reporters and reviewers so that they have time to consider covering it well in advance of the actual publication date. In other words, the galley is an early bound version of the book, to which editors and authors still make changes.

Anyhow, I had the pleasure of meeting Andrea in late September, at an event where authors could meet the media (The National Publicity Summit), and during our two minutes alloted to chat, she asked me for a galley. It turns out that the subject interests her greatly.

Soon after our meeting, Maggie, the publicist for Berkley Books (my publisher) sent Andrea a galley and then after that, a bound manuscript because the galley required so many last-minute changes from experts, research updates, and other revisions, 

By the way, it’s thrilling — with SUGAR SHOCK! some two months away from hitting bookstores — that Andrea chose to write about my book. For years, I’ve been a fan of this prolific writer and former English major, who’s been the magazine’s publishing reporter since 1995. (Make sure to catch her literary allusion to the mythological character Cassandra.) Of course, if you read TIME regularly, you should be familiar with Andrea’s smart, well-thought-out articles.

Well, that’s my exciting day. Now, I have to finish a playful, Halloween-inspired thank you response to Andrea.