This is a guest blog by my friend Sandra Beasley, poet, champion of the sestina, and author most recently of Don't Kill the Birthday Girl.

 

My memoir Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life has brought me into conversation with many families affected by food allergy. Some parents tell me they never allow foods into the house that could even possibly trigger a reaction in their allergic child. Grandma wants flour-gravy for her Thanksgiving turkey? She'll deal. Dad's law partner can come in, but his box of Belgian chocolates must return to the car.

 

"That's...great," I say. Parents notice my hesitant pause. They ask: Why would I ever choose differently? Isn't the mantra "better safe than sorry"? 

 Yes, in terms of sex, or backing up computer files. But in terms of managing food allergies as an adult in the real world, it is sometimes a little more complicated. Here's the truth: how parents advocate for an allergic child, or a child with any kind of chronic health issue, is probably going to be different from the way that child advocates for herself as an adult.