Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle used with permission from All-Creatures.org


Suzanne McAllister reflects on the unexpected change in her book club after another vegan joined the group.


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In the Vegan world, sometimes 1+1= more than 2!
From Suzanne McAllister, Post Animal Use World (PAUW) Substack, suzannemcalllister.substack.com
March 2026

two human icons, books, and vegan ingredients
Images from Canva


I’ve been a member of my book club for about a decade. Initially I was the only vegan. Our bookclub can be imaginative. When we read The Henna Artist, we hired a local henna artist to paint images on our hands.

We do potluck and try to bring dishes from the culture or region of the book we’ll be discussing. For instance, our last book was When the Cranes Fly South, set in Sweden. Many of us brought traditional Swedish dishes.

While we were sitting around the table, the person sitting next to me whispered ‘have you noticed almost all the food is vegan’? I nodded and smiled. This was not always the case. I was the sole vegan for most of the time we’ve been meeting. During that time, at least one of the members was always thoughtful and made something vegan. Many of the others either didn’t think about it, or apologized when they realized it was not something I would eat.

Enter the 2nd vegan about two years ago, and TA DA, things changed. As he quietly mentioned, almost all the food at book club is now vegan. It was never a big deal. It was not discussed in the group. It just happened.

I am struck though, at the change having just one more vegan made in what people bring to share.

In my extended family I remain the only vegan. When getting together for a meal, it is not uncommon for whoever is hosting to either tell me to bring my own food, or tell me what will be served that I can eat. Rarely is the entire meal vegan.

Recognizing what happened in book club has me hoping (and praying) that someone in my family becomes vegan. Then, perhaps then - 1 + 1 might equal more than 2!!

Posted on All-Creatures: May 5, 2026
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