Some news...

Hey folks! I have two announcements. One: THE SECOND EDITION OF MY BOOK IS COMING OUT! Hip hip hurrah! So, originally Generation V was published on Tofu Hound Press by my friends Bob and Jenna. Tofu Hound started from nothing and became the publishing end of an amazing vegan media empire, Vegan Freak. Recently, Tofu Hound became a part of the broader radical small press, PM Press, who wanted to reissue Tofu Hound's titles under their press, including mine. What a perfect opportunity to get my act together and update some things I've long wanted to update! The second edition now has many more recipes, a part about college (I'm not a teenage vegan anymore!), a new preface, and various other little updates throughout. I feel much more like it's something I, as a 20-year-old instead of a 15-year-old, can get behind. But beyond that it'll be nice to have the book in print again. For some reason this and not last year is the year a lot of opportunities and events (readings and whatnot) have come up and it's awkward to say "Hey, here's this book I wrote. Read it. Except you can't right now. Uh. Thanks anyway." I am happy. You can buy the new edition at PM Press's website. 

That said, I also don't think I'm going to be updating this blog any longer, or at least very rarely. In addition to just being busy with other projects and life-things, I'm taking a step back from the vegan community for a while. I will always be vegan, and I value the friends, discoveries, and memories I've made through this community, but there are just other issues and questions on my mind and heart of late. I wouldn't say I'm burnt out, because to me that phrase is really negative - it implies some kind of breakdown or conflict, something not really chosen, bitterness. My identity as a 'vegan activist' is an identity I no longer feel like I occupy to the best of my abilities or the fullest of my spirit. I'm voluntarily bowing out of full participation in a movement to focus on other things that need my time and attention. I never want to not be vegan, and I would rather gracefully slip out of a movement for a time and live a life of veganism than burn out. I also don't want to devote myself to something my heart isn't in - veganism deserves to be advocated by people who are passionate for it, and it's not as if the community lacks for those. In my 5+ years of veganism, I'm glad I've learned that veganism is something that grows and changes as you do as a person. I know this will continue to be a part of my life, but my growth now is away from the community. I hope to return someday.