Maher - The uncook book : the essential guide to a raw food lifestyle

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Copyright 2015 by Tanya Maher

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Project editor: Amy Kiberd Indexer: Helen Snaith
Cover and interior design: Luana Gobbo
Cover and Interior photos: Charlie McKay

Product photos on .

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Previously published in the United Kingdom by Hay House UK, Ltd., 978-1781805640.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-4890-0

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1st US edition, October 2015
Printed in the United States of America

I discovered raw food not because I had a plethora of illnesses and this was my last resort. There was nothing wrong with me. I was fit, my body was in top shape, I never had to worry about what I ate, my parents were knowledgeable in alternative therapies, I had an awesome job in property, I was young, popular, invincibleI was healthy. Or so I thought.

Looking back at my life now, I can only picture a young girl living in complete denial. I often ate a tub of ice cream or an entire block of chocolate instead of lunch and dinner, because I figured I should choose one to avoid overeating. I partied til dawn in clouds of secondhand smoke and thought of it as the best form of exercise. I thought sleep was overrated. My whole back was covered in repulsive acne, but who cared, because I couldnt see behind me and at the beach, it was easy to just sunbathe lying on it. I would often get knife-piercing pain in my stomach, but I was the best long-distance runner I knew, so it didnt matter. I didnt like my own reflection, but I could always grin or pull faces in photos to disguise what I thought was too round a face and too big a nose. I would be bedridden whenever the seasons changed, but so was everyone else, so there was nothing wrong. I even thought that a reflexologist who told me to change my diet immediately to save myself from emerging diabetes was mad because, surely, diabetes was only for people who were overweight? And while others would turn to binging when it came to work- or relationship-related stress, I considered myself lucky for losing interest in eating when I was stressed, because I starved and got slimmer.

It took me a long time to unlearn these stories Id been telling myself. It took me even longer to realize how well Id mastered blocking out what needed attention, because of how well Id blocked out one particular major event in my life...

The year 1998 was one to remember. I survived my first year as a teenager, my first year in high school was almost over, my Russian accent had begun to sound more Kiwi (believe me, a foreign accent is a big deal when you are an immigrant at school), and, for the first time, I was allowed to go away with my best friend for our joint birthday celebrations. It was a rainy day, the road was long and winding, but it didnt matter because it was school holidays, I was with my bestie, we had candy, hip-hop music to sing along to, and the whole back of the car to ourselves. Nothing was going to stop us from laughing and dancing, not even a safety belt that strapped you tightly to your seat. We both pulled our seatbelts over our shoulders and under our arms, so were secured only around our waists. The next thing I remember is seeing a four-wheel drive head on, an unimaginable strike of sharp pain in my abdomen, followed by our car quickly filling with smoke and the struggle to open a jammed door, because I couldnt possibly stay in a car that might blow up like in the movies.

I still have no idea whether it was five minutes or five hours between the car accident and being rushed to Auckland City Hospital by helicopter, although I do remember how fast the emergency crew chopped open my favorite checked blue trousers. And amid the uncontrollable shivering of my entire body, the excruciating pain through my stomach to my back, the haunting repetition of ambulance crew voices shouting something about a fractured spine, I still managed to wish that I was wearing better underwear.

Everyone in both vehicles survived the crash, but no one walked away injury free. I broke my back and had to wear a full-body brace for four months. I still have a metal plate and screws joining my lower spine. My stomach was so badly bruised and swollen from the seatbelt (which also saved my life) that doctors proposed to remove my pancreas. To make this hospital stay even more memorable, a catheter burst inside me, spreading an infection through my bladder, all while I was being pumped with an intense dose of morphine, to which my body reacted with severe hives.