Year Of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub

I'm a little mixed on this. I did enjoy it, very much actually, but the title is a little wrong. I don't want to be pedantic but it was not 'a year without sugar', it was an attempted year with no sugar; and there's a big difference. I know because Ive done it myself.

I had "no sugar in any shape or form, no substitutes and no cheating" for 18 months, several years ago. Yes, I had a health reason for doing so (and therefore more impetus) but I'm just saying it can be done. Diabetics do it all the time.

This was more of a "We're having no sugar for an entire year~ except dextrose, glucose syrup, rice syrup, mashed dates and of course one REAL cheat a month. What?? I know, I know, I'm a spoilsport, but sugar alternatives aside, ~I'm not going to touch that one~ I don't think there should have been monthly cheats. Period. Full stop. It's either "A Year without Sugar" or it isn't.

Anyway, you're probably wondering why I still gave it 4 stars.

The fact is, I enjoyed it. It's a fun read. It's honest and REAL and I think most people will relate to the "we're only human and its gelato for goodness sake" ideology.

I also felt pretty nostalgic while reading it since the authors background and my own was so similar. Even down to the ethical vegetarianism, growing up in Vermont,the 80s, affection for maple syrup, rhubarb and other things that make up "me".

So it's not a health book, like "Sugar Blues", (which by the way is excellent if you're looking for a health book) its more of a memoir of trying to make healthier choices in one's own family, and how that panned out in reality.

CONTENT:
One thing that I wish was cleaned up a bit more was the language. There's several people I know who would like this book but I can't recommend it to them while it has both minor profanity (D's and H's and words like crap) and, more "moderately" (S, three times) and even the euphemism "motherfreakin" (that one kind of shocked me). I just know it would turn them off. And it really isn't necessary for the story telling. The "S" words especially were entirely unneeded, if you took them out no one would know where they 'went', they're that superfluous.
Just my opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free copy to review.