Leah Segedie and I first met back in 2011 when she was working on GMO labeling in the state of California and I was working with bloggers to join the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families blogger network. Right off the bat, we “got” each other. We’re both opinionated, outspoken, hate righteous environmentalism, we both think we’re hilarious and we don’t have time for haters.
So it was my honor to help review her book, her fourth baby, Green Enough. I asked Leah if she would do an interview for my website about her new book so you can all see if it’s right for you. Trust me, it is.
As I wrote in the intro of her book, Green Enough is riveting, fact-based and utterly hilarious. Leah will give you all the information you need to remove toxic chemicals from your home (with the help of some cuss words and easy to understand science), without driving your family crazy.
Buy this book for all your friends and family who need to start making steps to reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals in the home!
Exclusive Interview with Leah Segedie, author of Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier
(Oddly enough, this is the only photo I have of Leah and myself. While she may be standing behind me in this photo, she gravitates towards the spotlight with her infectious personality. Photo credit: ShiftCon Media, the health and wellness conference that Leah runs in her “spare time”.)
1 – You’re book Green Enough is all about making greener, safer choices without going crazy. Can you give me an example of some of the information people will learn when they buy your book?
When you pick up a copy of Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier (All Without Driving Your Family Crazy!)you’ll have all the information you need to protect your family from hormone disrupting chemicals inside your home. That’s sounds amazing, but what it boils down to is you’ll find some of the surprising ways these chemicals are finding their way into your body…and it’s happening.
Here is some of the things you will learn:
- What is the quickest way to make the biggest impact on the hormonal health of your family?
- What do all these certifications mean when it comes to meat, chicken, pork, eggs & dairy? And which ones are the most important?
- What rooms in the home contain the most toxic of chemicals that you would never suspect? And how do you keep that from happening?
- What chemicals in personal care products are troublesome to your health?
- Which brands should you purchase? We investigated close to a thousand brands to call out the bad boys and let you know who the good ones are in all areas of your home like food, cleaning products, personal care products, kitchen appliances, furniture, bakeware and cookware, water filters & air filters.
2 – How did you learn about toxic chemicals in consumer products and how to avoid them? Who are your mentors?
I first learned about toxic chemicals in consumer products from Healthy Child Healthy World, a non-profit that focuses on educating parents about hormone disrupting chemicals in the home. With their help, I was able to organize a Mamavation campaign in social media to reach out to parents. I learned so much and then I was hooked because it’s such an important topic that needs more attention.
And when it comes to mentors, I have the absolute best. Pete Myers, who I refer to as “the godfather” in the book is my main mentor when it comes to this topic. He’s incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to hormone disrupting chemicals. He’s also the co-author of Our Stolen Future, which was a groundbreaking scientific novel about the impacts these chemicals had on animals, the environment and us. And he’s been recognized by the National Institutes of Health for his work with hormone disrupting chemicals and bisphenols (BPA). So basically he’s “THE GUY” to have in your corner.
To write the book, I had to bring together hundreds of interviews that I’ve done over the years with intense research on the subject matter, including from professionals like you. A big thank you for helping me edit the chapter on personal care. And my challenge was to make this incredibly complex information palatable, approachable and entertaining.
3 – What is the most complicated topic to navigate in the consumer safety space?
Personal care is by far the most complicated in my opinion for several reasons. (Note from Lindsay: Don’t I know!!) It doesn’t follow the same rules as food, whereas if the word sounds long and scary it’s likely something bad and avoid it. That’s not necessarily true in personal care. Botanical ingredients sound long and scary and that can be as simple as coconut extract. Another reason it’s so complicated is there are instances where having synthetic ingredients makes you safer than having natural ones. This is the case with natural hues. There is heavy metal contamination in most natural hues and therefore synthetic colors are preferable when it comes to colors like red and orange.
Personal care is left for the last chapter of Green Enough because that’s the last place I went in my own life. I went full ostrich for a spell before I ventured into my bathroom to do some sherlocking. And then of course threw just about everything away because it was full of phthalates, concerning preservatives, etc. My experience and the way I handled it is reflected in the book and how I recommend you do your personal care purge.
4 – Who would enjoy reading your book?
No one is perfect when it comes to green living, so the book has really been written for everyone. BUT it’s mostly written for people who don’t enjoy reading complicated dry books on science. Rodale came to me and said they wanted me to write a book “as myself” and then I reminded them that I’m eccentric and cuss like a sailor and they said they “welcomed it!” So that is what you get in the book. I’m sassy, eccentric, use visual terms that help you relate to the subject matter, and I treat you like a girlfriend, not someone to be lectured to. It’s really like me being in your kitchen hanging with you and drinking a glass of organic wine.
5 – What’s something that gives you hope?
The more people that suffer from chronic disease, lose family members from cancer, have children with special needs and allergies, the more people get tuned into nontoxic living. And although that is a sad way to come to the lifestyle, it’s very sincere. And those stories are impactful and sincere. My hope comes from how dynamic people are. What someone does five years ago doesn’t necessarily mean that is what they are doing today. Anyone can change. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, everyone wants better for their family and everyone wants to be healthy. I’m hopeful that green living will continue to be popular until we don’t need it anymore because it will just be called “life.”
Sounds amazing right? Head on over to my Amazon affiliate link and purchase Green Enough. While you’re at it, buy a copy for your best friend and sibling.
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