I will be interviewed on the "Top of Your Game" show with Ariela Sarai, tonight at 7 Eastern. I'm excited for the chance to talk about "Fat Boy Thin Man" and about spirituality's role in my recovery. Please consider tuning in and passing the information on to others. 

This is the first of several excerpts from what could loosely be called the conclusions section of "Animal Vegetable Miracle," Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 book about her family's locavore year:

I heard rumor of a boycott in California of candy for Halloween, but I've only found boycotts related to specific candy manufacturers, which is different.

If you know of anything like that, in Cali or elsewhere, I'd love to hear more.

I reach perhaps my greatest convergence of outlook with author Barbara Kingsolver in this latest excerpt from her 2007 book "Animal Vegetable Miracle," to the point of wanting to effect that quizzical look puppies evince when they see something that truly flummoxes them:

I recently had the delight of sitting down with Cathy Zolner, a compatriot in the battle for healthy living and eating who happens to live in the same town I do. We connected, quite appopriately, after a screening of the film documentary "Lunch Line" at Boston's Museum of Science. I found a great deal in common with Zolner, a "wholistic health coach" who works primarily with women.

If you've read "Fat Boy Thin Man," you know about Acorn Food Dependency Recovery Services. Chapter 6, titled "Itinerant rehab," is based on my spending five days in Acorn's treatment program, based that week at a rented vacation chalet somewhere in southern Indiana. Acorn has also conducted its programs in Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as in Iceland and Canada, and I'm probably missing a few, too.

Another excerpt from "Animal Vegetable Miracle," Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 book. In this one, she talks about those who choose to be vegetarian.

One of the reasons I upgraded my website software recently was to make commenting easier. You now can comment using a Facebook login, so you no longer need to log into this site. If you prefer, or if you don't have a Facebook account, you no longer need my intervention to see your pearls in print.

I wish I'd been able to accomplish those changes much sooner than I did, but at least they're done now.

So please, please come back often to read, and, when you feel like it, react. 

Another excerpt from "Animal Vegetable Miracle," Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 book.

I have long been frustrated by what I hear from my many friends who seek out registered dietitians, because so many of them seem clueless about my experience and the multitudes of others whose experience is similar. 

"Eat everything in moderation, and you'll be fine," is the worst; as advice, it's accurate but tone-deaf. For many people with weight concerns who consult registered dietitians, that's as good as saying, "do that thing you haven't been doing, even though you know you should, even though you've been trying to, sometimes for years." Thanks for the help, Ms. RD.