Beverly Lynn and Ray’s comprehensive overview of veganism as a lifestyle, and not merely a diet, is most refreshing, as is their unwavering emphasis on the compassion present when actually living the journey. Even the book’s dedication, “…to all the creatures we share this world with.”, reminds us why the authors poured so much of their passion into its pages.

All the basics of going vegan — what to eat, where to shop, how to cook — are thoroughly covered and Beverly and Ray give you many reasons and tools to make veganism a reality in your life. If you can’t do it in one fell swoop, the authors encourage incremental change — taking baby steps — from where you are now to where you want to be. The destination remains the same whether it’s nonstop or laid over.

One chapter focuses on vegan pregnancy, breastfeeding and raising healthy vegan children.

“The birth weights and lengths of vegan babies are relatively the same as, if not slightly higher than, those born to meat-eaters. Healthy, strong vegan babies abound, while low birth weights and preterm births are on the rise in the US and around the globe. Inadequate nutrition is most certainly to blame, but not so with the average baby born to a vegan mother!”

Raw Food Info? There’s an entire chapter dedicated to everything from sprouts to live juices.

Raw food’s transit time (from digestion to elimination) is around 24 hours. Cooked food takes two to four times longer to work its way through your 29 feet of intestines. Raw foods are more easily broken down on a nutrient level hastening their utilization and processing.

Recipes? Find fifty of the best culinary treats, simple and clear, right down to the last delicious vegan bite. (Some recipes follow.) More at www.veganchef.com.

Ever steadfast in their direction, the authors remind us again of compassion for life when buying clothes, household products, and health and beauty aids — areas easily overlooked if we’re just considering food and diet.

Vegan Living is very user-friendly and, in typical Complete Idiot’s Guide format, is peppered with boxes on the sidelines: warnings and cautions called “HOT POTATO”, useful info and tidbits called “IN A NUTSHELL”, definitions marked “VEGAN 101”, and meaningful quotations where you see “GOLDEN APPLES”. Each chapter ends with “THE LEAST YOU NEED TO KNOW” which is a reassuring summary so you don’t miss anything!

Beverly Lynn Bennett and Ray Sammartano

I wish this definitive book had been around when I turned veg fifteen years ago. As I was wading into those unfamiliar waters back then, not knowing the difference between tofu and kung fu, Vegan Living could have served as compass and companion!

This resource is for the inquiring, compassionate mind. In his foreword, John Robbins says, if you want to “bring your life into greater alignment with your heart...If you are the kind of person who knows there is wisdom in your heart and wants to live by it, this book’s for you.” I wholeheartedly agree!

The authors’ information is so astonishingly lucid, anyone who reads Vegan Living can adopt a vegan lifestyle with relative ease and confidence. If you’re new to veganism, reading it is like an exciting adventure; if you’re already vegan, it’s like visiting a dear old friend; and if you’re somewhere in between, reading it will give you the best of both worlds. -Reviewed by Lin Silvan

Complete Idiot’s Guide to VEGAN LIVING – Beverly Lynn Bennett and Ray Sammartano. 2005, 368pp 7½x9½ $18.95. (In stock at AVS, 20% discount to members.)

Lin Silvan is founder and director of the Eugene Veg Education Network (EVEN), the Eugene Oregon vegan society. eugvegedunet@comcast.net

Beverly Lynn Bennett is an experienced vegan chef writer, and animal lover who has worked for various vegan and vegetarian restaurants and natural foods establishments during the past decade. In 1988, she earned her culinary arts degree and spent the next 15 years developing and expanding her vegan culinary skills and knowledge base. Currently a chef in Eugene, Oregon, and the author of the "Dairy-Free Desserts" column for VegNews, Beverly's work has appeared in many publications, on public television, and all over the Internet. A vegan for more than 15 years, she is the author of the e-cookbook Eat Your Veggies! and has hosted "The Vegan Chef" website at veganchef.com since 1999. In her spare time, Beverly enjoys giving culinary advice to fellow vegans and the veg-curious via the web, trying out new recipe ideas on friends and family, exploring the Oregon countryside, and spending time with her cat Luna.

Ray Sammartano is a musician, web developer, and long-time vegan who has devoted himself to spreading the vegan message for the past 15 years. He is also the webmaster for Beverly's website and her partner in life as well as in many vegan-related endeavors. Earning a degree in philosophy helped deepen Ray's understanding of the issues surrounding a vegan lifestyle. In 1999, he created a popular online vegan discussion forum known as the VMB, or Vegan Message Board, which evolved into the semi-official forum for The Vegan Society until 2002. Ray's unique brand of electronic music was featured in the 2001 film The Accident, released by Parthenon Films, and has been used in other independent productions while receiving acclaim from listeners worldwide via the Internet. Learn more at xylox.net.