My Books: Invisibly Allergic & Colby the Gemologist

Two Books, Two Worlds, One Voice

Writing Invisibly Allergic: A Memoir of Survival, Advocacy, and Change was about making the food allergy experience go from unseen to seen, giving language and voice to experiences that are often overlooked, minimized, or misunderstood. My children’s book, Colby The Gemologist, also comes from a personal, advocacy-driven, and imaginative place!

It is a story inspired by our rescue beagle, Colby, who we adopted when he was around 9 years old. Our vet suspected he had previously been used in a laboratory setting due to signs like glaucoma from trauma and esophageal tumors and complications. Despite that early history, he lived a full, joyful life with us, nearly reaching his 18th birthday!

The sad reality is that beagles are often used in lab environments because of their gentle temperament and ability to adapt to confinement in a crate, which is part of a larger and ongoing issue of animal testing on cats, rabbits, dogs, and specifically beagles. This book carries a quiet awareness of that reality, while also centering joy, education around rocks and gems, and sparking magical curiosity of our surroundings that sometimes can be overlooked.

The story itself was sparked by a photograph my husband took of Colby at an early eye doctor visit of his. That moment became the seed for something much bigger, a children’s story brought to life in collage-style artwork created by my mom and me, with design support from a wonderfully talented friend in the UK I connected with through Reedsy, who has since become a meaningful part of my creative circle.

What emerged is a book about seeing the world differently, finding wonder in unexpected places, and honoring a courageous dog who lived with resilience, softness, and love despite where he began.

If you are here from my food allergy memoir, thank you for following my slightly different work into another creative space. This project is different in tone, but connected in spirit. To learn more about animal testing and beagles used in research, I highly recommend following the Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) to explore their resources and advocacy work.

You can support my writing by purchasing either book directly. Every direct purchase helps me continue creating independent stories that center awareness, empathy, and creativity.