Allergic Girl Book, Marginalia

At the March 12, 2016 Eleni's cookie and book event, Linda, mom of Bailey and Director of Programs for FAACT showed me her well-worn copy of Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies. She had read through my book and made notes in the margins, not for herself, but for her teenaged daughter Bailey. Linda wrote love notes, supportive cheers, underlined certain passages and underscored certain points.

Here I am with Linda and Bailey at Eleni's event (reprinted with permission)

I’m a huge proponent of making notes in margins of books I own and love and reread and reuse: cookbooks, non-fiction, novels - yes all of them I underline, I make notes, I respond to the writer as if we were conversing. Marginalia as it’s commonly called. The New York Times talks about it as does the New Yorker.

But I had not heard of this exceptionally wonderful wrinkle from my Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies readers: writing in the margins to your child, in the future. It’s like little notes in your future adult child's life lunchbox. What a brilliant idea!

Linda's marginalia to Bailey

Thank you, Linda, for sharing how you’ve used my book Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies to help Bailey create a future roadmap into high school and beyond. 

LOVE THIS!