Jessica Berger Gross - enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer

My heartfelt thanks to my agent, Douglas Stewart, for believing in me and my writing ever since I sent him that first stack of pages years ago. Thanks, too, to Seth Fishman, also at Sterling Lord Literistic, for all his help and support. Ann Treistman, my editor at Skyhorse, was wonderful to work with; our conversations challenged me, inspired me, and made this a better book.

I wouldnt have been able to transform my life, much less write a book about it, without the guidance and inspiration of my teachers inside and outside of the yoga world. The late Sylvia Avner encouraged my love of reading. Larry Waxman, my drama teacher at South Side High School, helped me to imagine the possibility of a creative life. Thank you to Ann Klotz and her colleagues at the Ensemble Theatre Community School, including Tara Munjee, for introducing me to yoga and the power of stillness. My understanding of yoga and what it means to live a yogic life was formed by my studies at the Jivamukti Yoga Center. Thank you to Sharon Gannon and David Life for their work there and particularly to my favorite Jivamukti teacher, Ruth Lauer-Manenti, whose spiritual teachings made a huge difference at a crucial time. I am indescribably grateful for the teachings of B. K. S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar and to the Iyengar method teachers with whom Ive had the privilege of studying. Especially important to me has been Patrica Walden in Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose before class talks on the Yoga Sutras made them seem much less esoteric and who helped me develop my asana practice. During my pregnancy, Bobby Clennell at the Iyengar Institute in New York kept me comfortable and helped me go upside down until the very end. I am forever indebted to Bobby for contributing her beautiful illustrations to this book and for making sure my descriptions of the yoga poses are consistent with the Iyengar method. Louie Ettling in Vancouver helped me find my practice again after the birth of my son. Ellen Taylor and Linda Luz-Alterman provided wisdom, guidance, and the tools I needed to make a change.

Danielle Friedman told me I should write this book. Daphne Kalotay gave me great comments on the manuscript. Ezekiel Peterson suggested the phrase peace, love, and pineapples. His mother, Susanna Sonnenberg, has given me advice when I needed it and helped me become a better writer. My fabulous friend Emily Barman reminded me to be kind to myself, both in recounting my experiences and in daily life. When I became overwhelmed with juggling a baby and a book deadline, Kristen Lewis urged me to keep writing; Im so lucky to have found a friend walking the same path. Katherine Brennan has been there for me from mozzarella sticks to vegetarian chili. Her advice on teaching Lucien to nap at home made writing this book possible. Alexa Woods provided several essential hours of loving childcare each week.

For letting me share their stories and recipes Id also like to thank my friends Jackie Kersh, Jenna Korff and her mother, Louise Marshall, Chindi Varadarajulu, and Mitchell Stevens. Many thanks to Marion Nestle for explaining to me why pineapple and dahl baht can help you lose weight.

Its hard to imagine this book coming to be without the love, encouragement, and day in day out support of my husband, Neil Gross. Although hed never be caught engaging in New Age talk, the fact of the matter is that we have gone through this spiritual transformation together. Hes held my hand through the hardest moments in my life and the most magical ones. Not only has Neil helped make it possible for me to write over the last several years, he has been involved in almost every aspect of this book, from brainstorming with me about the overall conception and structure to offering his ridiculously good line editsnot to mention testing out recipes, preparing healthy dinners, and taking time away from his own work to provide lots of extra childcare so that I could finish on time. Thank you, sweetie.

Love and kisses to my favorite little pineapple, Lucien. You are, of course, the best thing thats ever happened to me.

JESSICA BERGER CROSS is a longtime yoga devotee and editor of the award-winning anthology About What Was Lost: 20 Writers on Miscarriage, Healing, and Hope . Originally from Long Island, New York, Jessica lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, their son, and Salem, their dog. She teaches creative writing at the University of British Columbia.