The Acid Watcher Diet by Jonathan Aviv, MD.

After suffering from reflux for many years and going through pills that rarely made me feel better, I was hopeful that The Acid Watcher Died would have a solution. It is a very informative book divided into three sections: Acid Disruption and your diet, Food and lifestyle prescriptions, and the 28 day blueprint for reducing acid damage, revving up metabolism, and staying healthy for life.

The information on acid and reflux conditions is extensive, informative, and written so that it is easy to understand. The diet and Healing Phase section of the book is also very extensive. There is a list of food and drinks to eliminate from the diet that makes sense, but is not easy to follow. I have eliminated those I can and limited a couple drastically. Many people with reflux also have other digestive ailments and some of the recommendations for added foods (including about half of the vegetables) are not appropriate. For me, the major problem with the diet is the heavy reliance on fish. Unless you live in a coastal region, fresh fish is not fresh or tasty. You do have the options of chicken and turkey. Red flags go up for me when certain brands are mentioned, certain salts are considered better than others, and have ingredients that can only be purchased online.

There is a selection of recipes, but I did not bookmark even one of them to try. I can’t even imagine why the Luxurious Chocolate Torte that contained 2 sticks of butter and full-fat Greek Yogurt in an 8” pan is considered healthy.

This is a good, informative book, but if you don’t live in an area with a Whole Foods or fresh seafood, the recipes section won’t be of much help. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

You Carried Me, A Daughter’s Memoir by Melissa Ohden

A baby facing serious medical challenges was adopted into a loving home. With much love and support, Melissa flourished. When she was in 8^th grade, her sister made an angry comment about her birth and her mother had to explain the horrible truth that Melissa’s birth mother had aborted her, but she lived.

This is not exactly a story about abortion, but more about searching for and reaching out to her birth family and maturing into a young woman with her own family. It is about an amazing spirit of forgiveness. The best part of the book is that the way her story unfolds. The birth extended family was reluctant, but little by little Melissa learned about her birth family. She has faced numerous struggles throughout her life, but her spirit of love and forgiveness shines all through the book.

The only thing that bothered me about the book was that she told a story about a famous person’s numerous abortions. I guess it had previously been made public, but I thought it was not her story to tell, and it sounded too much like gossip.

As sad as her story is, it is a very uplifting book. She has overcome so much and has come out of it as a positive, strong person.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.