Victoria Boutenko - Raw Family : A True Story of Awakening

Victoria, Igor, Sergei and Valya Boutenko

We dedicate this book to people who are helping others by being a good example.

We thank all the people in the world who speak the truth.

We thank all our dear friends throughout the world who inspired us to present thinking.

We thank all Editors, Readers, Artists and Printers for their kindness and patience.

Special thanks to Elizabeth and David Bechtold for financing our book.

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was riding in a comfortable bus with many friends. Outside the weather was stormy with pouring rain, lightning and wind bending trees to the ground. In the bus was pleasant music, laughter, good company and relaxing seats. The aroma of mounds of shrimp was everywhere and we were ready to eat!

While looking through the window I suddenly saw a sign very clearly. It said, "No gas services next 500 miles"! Automatically I looked over the driver's shoulder and noticed that the gas gauge was close to the red mark. I told him about the sign, and he retorted, "It couldn't be! You must've been mistaken. I think there will be one soon." As it was, the driver was not pleased with my interrupting the joke he was telling.

I remembered very clearly what I saw and thought that surely someone else in the bus must have seen it. I went through the bus and asked my friends. Nobody saw the sign and what was more surprising, nobody cared!

I began to realize that we'd have to walk back many miles as the bus was quickly taking us farther and farther toward the point of no return. I knew it was important to turn our bus back, but my friends began to feel irritated. I grabbed my backpack and asked the driver to let me out. Some of my friends started to tell me, "Hey, you'll get all wet and cold. Wait for the shrimp first. Don't leave us. Don't you like our company?"

Ignoring them, I jumped off the bus at the first opportunity. But it wasn't long before I was very cold and scared. For a while, I doubted my own wisdom. How nice it was in a warm bus ...

I started to walk faster to get warmer. Walking in wet shoes soon gave me bad blisters. There were more busses filled with people and music following the route my bus had taken. I couldn't believe that I was the only one who saw the sign.

It took me two hours to reach the sign. I read it again. I was glad that it was real and I felt sorry for my friends. But I had done my best to let them know. I continued walking. I fell into some kind of numbness or meditation and didn't notice how it started to light up in the eastern sky.

Suddenly I saw a barefoot man standing on the road. Smiling, he asked, "Did you get off the bus? Me too. I'm so glad to see you. I've been walking alone for fourteen days already. You are the first one I've seen since then."

I was surprised that he didn't look tired or depressed. In fact, he looked happy and refreshed. I told him about my blisters, and how I was tired and hungry. Instead of sympathy, the man began to tell me his story. He said that he had begun to really enjoy walking. He said, everybody would have to get off the bus.

e came to the United States from Russia ten years ago when I was invited by the Community College of Denver to teach students about Russian president Gorbachev and Perestroika. At first, the cultural shock was great. I remember we felt inspired and hopeless at the same time. When I saw signs on the street benches that read, "Rent a bench!" I wrote to my mother, "Life here is very expensive. Even to sleep on a bench people have to pay rent."

On our arrival from Russia, I was not very fat. I was 180 pounds, a "normal" Russian woman. When I visited my very first American supermarket and saw all those multi-colored boxes, I told my husband that I wanted to try them all! And I think I did. In two short years, I gained 100 pounds.

From that day in the first supermarket, I noticed that many foods in the boxes were not as tasty as I had expected. While still in Russia, I saw "Dunkin Donuts" in so many movies that I was anxious to try them. When I tried one, I couldn't understand why in the world anyone would like Dunkin Donuts. I had to try them three times to become completely addicted. Then I began to wonder why I didn't like them before.

Then things got even worse. We had opened six very successful businesses, become rich, bought a big house and slept on a huge, fancy, very soft bed. We went out every night to every fancy or exotic restaurant in Denver and the suburbs.

From that kind of "full" life (I'd rather say fool life), I developed serious health problems. My left arm numbed every night. My veins were popping out. I developed persistent arrhythmia, which is an unsteady heart beat. At the same time, my father in Russia had his second heart attack. When I talked with him on the phone, he described his symptoms. they matched mine so closely that from that moment I never knew if I would awaken the next morning.

My doctor told me that I had to lose weight. I signed up for a life membership at a health club but never seemed to find time to go there again. I subscribed to Weight Watchers magazine and had wonderful fantasies while reading it. Then I went to the Slim-Fast workshop. Soon I signed up for another popular weight-loss program. I got an itchy rash from eating their special food, but I didn't lose a single ounce.

As a result of all these failures and wishful thinking, I began to fall into a deep depression.

Soon I was doubting the very reason for continuing to live. I considered my life finished and any changes seemed impossible. I gave up. I was going down.

Valya: I knew about my mother's terrible heart condition and my father's arthritis. I also knew that I had asthma, but I thought asthma was normal, just fine.

Sergei: I remember the past. My mother was always so tired. She never took us places. Instead, she'd hire somebody to take us to a movie, or to the park.

My sister and I were bored and were constantly chewing something. I started to gain weight. All summer long I would sit on our expensive Lazy Boy couch and think of a good activity with which to entertain myself.

We had constant mood swings (especially me) and one moment I'd crush some toys or old machinery with rocks or a hammer. The next minute I would be too tired and lazy to walk from the couch to the door to let my dog out.

When I was about 9 years old, I started noticing disturbing changes in my health. After I gorged myself one Halloween on a pillowcase of candy, my mother found me unconscious on the bathroom floor.

My mom rushed me to the doctor, who told us that I had incurable juvenile diabetes, and that I had to go on insulin immediately. He said I would have to give myself shots for the rest of my life and there was nothing more he could do. My mom and I were shocked. Mother decided to go home and "think about it."