Following are some of the notes I received from people who have either heard or read my earliest speeches. I value their collective enthusiasm for the message, not as a pat on the back (although that is lovely as well), but as validation that we all need to learn as much as we can about how to make healthier choices for our family and our planet. Better behavior in every household is one small step toward change so every ounce of awareness serves as my inspiration.
“Thanks so much for your amazing energy and eye-opening presentation. I am asking this in all seriousness: are you talking to a publisher about a book--and a PR agent? I see your Today Show appearance and the book jacket: One Mother's Journey Into Greening Her Family.” Susan, San Francisco, CA 12/4/07
“So...you absolutely nailed that talk. I'm so proud of all your passion, work, and the end result. You can, and should, take that talk on the road. You are an incredible, passionate, articulate spokesperson for this work. You could feel the relief in the room that someone was ready to give out the answers in a digestible format. There’s no shortage of hunger, but a real shortage of aggregated information. People want to get to the right side fast, but they don’t know what to do. You seriously rocked, my friend.” Carolyn, San Francisco, CA 12/3/07
“Thank you so much for your wonderful presentation this morning and for the immense amount of work and effort you are putting into this. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to get involved. I am so right there with you and wonder day and night why my girls have asthma, elevated CK levels and neurological problems when we ‘supposedly’ live in a healthy-ish area and spend a gazillion dollars at Whole Foods each year.... Thanks for leading the charge on this critical issue.” Nia, Mill Valley, CA 12/3/07
“Thank you so much for your time and energy in putting together the talk for us this morning. It was life-changing for me, as I expected it would be, knowing that I was in the state of ignorance is bliss. You did a wonderful job and everyone was hanging on each of your words.” Marybeth, San Francisco, CA 12/3/07
“Like, I said, very few things can keep me awake after a long day including People Magazine, Maureen Dowd, and re-runs of Seinfeld until I started reading your speech. Honestly, friendship aside, I was blown away and felt compelled to act at 11 pm!!!. It was like a novel that I could not put down. I found myself wanting more information, picking up a highlighter, patting myself on the back when I felt like I was unknowingly being green and then slapping myself with a duh when I realized how uninformed I am on a lot of things. I love, love, love the way you took a very complex, overwhelming topic and broke it down to manageable pieces. Anyone can play. Even doing the smallest thing can make a difference. However, the way you wrote it you want to do it all!!! Very EFFECTIVE!! I also liked what I call the ‘Oprah guilt approach’ when she is trying to move people to take action. You can't pretend you don't know now.” Sarah, Charlotte, North Carolina 1/17/08
“I really enjoyed listening to you today. Our household has been going through some changes in the last couple of months too so thank you so much for the advice and information. I popped right down to Whole Foods to pick up some toothpaste and hair products! Its funny what has happened in Ireland with the world of going green. They have taken it to it really fast. Did you read about it in last week's New York Times? My mother, a true make-up queen, who keeps telling me to wear make-up, threw out all her make-up in exchange for organic. She had a bad eye infection and after seeing the doctor they figured it was the chemicals in the eye shadow. Its so great that you are spreading the word, you do it so naturally, with a great sense of humor!!! Can you send me a copy of your speech so I can do more research for our household!!” Ashley, San Francisco, CA 2/7/08
“I learned so much from you that I didn't know about cosmetics and all of the baby items! It is so scary and overwhelming, but I know that I can start small. It's obviously really hard to think of giving up manis and pedis, but less difficult when you think of ingesting formaldehyde, etc. I feel so grateful to have this information before I have my first baby. While I know that your children and others who have used these products will end up healthy and beautiful, it's empowering to know what I can do from the start to at least try and give them the healthiest life possible. Anyway, I won't go on, but I want you to know how inspiring you are! I've passed your speech along to many moms and friends and people have been so interested and inspired.” Grace, Durham, North Carolina 1/31/08
“I just read your speech all the way through and am thoroughly impressed. It's just staggering the knowledge you picked up. And the way you presented the issues to people and made them relevant...and how you delivered the solution along with it. Really well done!” Lauren, San Francisco 3/12/08
"You have such a lovely presence, your way of delivering the message was so informative and approachable, and it was inspiring! Moms are all so busy that we need people like you, who are informed, to help us sift through so much data and educate us on what to look for. This morning, I read my husband your chat, as we made breakfast and had the baby in the bjorn ... total multi-tasking. He was fired up and said, 'OK, what should we do first.' I have the Born-Free bottles and organic milk, but need to go buy some new pans to start...that scares me. As well, as do a run through of all of our cleaning supplies and cosmetic products. I'm glad you are helping me to get this in action and off of my 'to -do' list!" Jill, San Francisco, 3/16/08
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