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My response to Lynne Truss's publicity manager concerning her book.


Dear Madam:
I was horrified to learn that  on page 5 of  "Talk to the Hand," Lynne 
Truss writes:

" I now can't abide many, many things, and am actually always on the  
lookout
for more things to find completely unacceptable. Whenever I hear  of 
someone
being 'gluten intolerant' or 'lactose intolerant', for example,  I feel 
I've
been missing out. I want to be gluten intolerant too. I mean,  how much 
longer
do we have to put up with that gluten crap?"

Our daughter has celiac and if she eats one part per million of gluten, 
she is very ill.  This health issue prevents her from being a normal 
kid as she is in pain so much of the time due to poor labeling and 
understanding of the issue.

Is it funny or perhaps fun to have a  disease that prevents you from 
eating out, traveling, or socializing with friends without bringing 
your own food and/or cooking equipment?  Is it fun or funny to become 
ill often and repeatedly as a result of poorly labeled foods, careless 
restaurant workers, and well meaning friends?    My child doesn't think 
so.  I don't think so.

Lynne obviously has no idea what she is writing about.  Ironically, I 
purchased her previous book, "Eat Shoots and Leaves" to teach our 
daughter who, as a result of her celiac, missed so much school that I 
had to homeschool her for 1.5 years.

If you think that the celiac community has no sense of humor, rewrite 
the paragraph so it says:
"Whenever I hear of someone having 'diabetes' or 'anaphylactic shock 
from peanuts', for example, I feel I've been missing out.  I want to be 
diabetic too.  I mean, how much longer do we have to put up with that 
insulin crap?"

Is that funny?

Sincerely,

Jackie Rich
Phoenix, Arizona

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