In her first book, Vegan Minded: Becoming a Steward for Animals, People, and the Planet, author Christine Cook Mania delivers twenty personal essays on her journey to veganism and beyond.
After reading Eating Animals, a national bestseller, by Jonathan Safran Foer, Christine was left frustrated. Foer told the critical story of animal agriculture and factory farming including the brutality, devastation, and the moral dilemma of eating animals. Where Eating Animals left off, Vegan Minded picks up with stories and reflections on what it’s like to live vegan in a world set up for meat-eaters.
Like many people, Christine just wanted to fit in and belong. And yet, how do you fit in when you don’t want to eat what everyone else is eating? Food can be a big and contentious topic—just like sex, money, and politics. In her memoir-in-essays, Christine explores navigating a true path for herself in a culture set up to use animal products at every turn. And then, just when she thought she had it all figured out, she married an environmentalist. Now faced with more big changes, Christine had to figure out how to thrive in the world as a vegan environmentalist.
Part memoir, part informative guide, Vegan Minded covers topics ranging from vegetarianism to veganism to yoga to diets to dating to climate change and to activism. Each topic circles back to looking at the world through a vegan lens. Every essay was influenced by her studies of animal protection, environmental ethics, human rights, and culture & change. With heart and humor, this book tells a story of transformation, fortitude, and joy.
According to early readers, “the stories in this book make being vegan accessible and demystify veganism for nonvegan readers. Anyone who is striving to make a positive difference in the world should read this book.”
Vegan Minded is 272 pages and will be available on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
About the Author
Christine Cook Mania is a writer, yoga teacher, and humane educator. She has devoted herself to a vegan lifestyle since 2005. Born and raised in Indiana, Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Indiana University and a Master of Arts in humane education through the Institute for Humane Education in partnership with Antioch University New England. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two cats, and a dog, all three of which were adopted from shelters.