The Vegan with the Leather Purse: A New Perspective of Essays on Living with Autoimmune Disease, Belief, and the Ethical Fashion Movement

By Tovah Terranova

Living the “vegan” lifestyle is not always easy or simple, but I want to introduce you to the new way we can all live our lives with a little less pressure, a lot more grace. By sharing these essays, I hope you can relate to loving the best parts of fashion and health here in the USA, all while trying to do the next right thing with what we have been given. If you have been dealt an autoimmune condition or ever fought for your health, then this book is for you. If you’ve tried a green smoothie and didn’t like it this book is also for you. If you ship or shop for leather products of any kind this book is also for you. God is still on the throne, no matter what. This is a permission slip and a prescription to be well and live authentically, even if it doesn’t look like you thought it would. Let’s go!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664251205

Tovah Terranova

Tovah Terranova is an inspirational writer & Founder of Tovah’s GreenLife, a Health & Wellness Company based in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, children and their dog. Her passion projects connect her with social safety initiatives and the art community. Tovah builds bridges in the educational community with philanthropic efforts to create healing and dignified work for women everywhere.

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 Tovah Terranova.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

without the written permission of the author except in the case

of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author

and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of

the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of

people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or

links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5121-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5122-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5120-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021924033

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/31/2021

Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy

Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978,

1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All

rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and

New International Version are trademarks registered in the

United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy

Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by

Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House

Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Dx

Breadcrumbs...

The Shoes…

The Leather Purse

Pregnancy 2.0

Setbacks and Bullocks

2009

Another Daughter to Love

Living Food Living Body – Vegan Products Living Company

Moving into a New Space While Continuing to Heal

Our Lives & Our Planet

Growth...

Thoroughly Modern Millie...

Shipping vs. Shopping

The Walk-In

La Visionario - Guccio Gucci

La Forma

La Spettatrice

El Contatto

Tovah’s Essential Recipes

Epilogue

Preface

Those that fall in love with fashion are blind to it. Although few would agree, and most would detest they have experienced this kind of love. The kind that sweeps you off your feet and wrecks your thoughts. I’m not talking about meeting a love, I’m talking about when you fall in love with something be it infatuation with a pair of shoes, a new coat, a style that hits you like a ton of bricks. This is a collection of essays, and the story of how I met my latest Collective. She is THE Gucci and why she’s so very special she was named. She has more personality and originality in her straight forward vintage lines than others do in their whole trunk. Truly, I’ve never fallen so hard for a purse as I did for her. She’s beautiful and rustic. She’s pattern and fashion. Her feet are shiny and in new places. Most importantly she is one of a kind and valued beyond all the treasure in the vault. She’s been my muse if you will for some time, now and I’m excited to share with you how living a life willing to be interrupted by God’s direction we can all work in alignment unified by His most Holy and Divine grace.

Picture1.jpg

Introduction

My Mom raised us with the help of my grandparents. They had a construction business, so Grandma balanced the books full time and then was with us kids. My brothers & I grew up close. We went to public school, worked hard to earn our first car & knew that any success in life came long after hard work had been established. Mom was a docent at the Mission Inn Historical Society for a while. I remember she would let me tag along on her tours of the Inn all through the great rooms and the small quaint staircases that lead to new walls too. Maybe that’s where my love for exploring history, art & architecture was welded together, somewhere amidst the wrought iron of the presidential lounge there inside the Mission Inn of Riverside. Specifically, a chair, uniquely designed for President Taft, he was a rather big guy, so there’s extra scaffolding out on the sides of it as if to say, we can hold you Sir. I love that chair. I remember the three of us kids trying to pile into that chair, we all fit at one point. I don’t think they’ll let you do stuff like that anymore but that’s the way that I learned, walking through the history, running through the velvet ropes observing people in their tourism. Not because I was trying to break the rules, but because I wanted to learn more about what was there. I loved to wander as a kid and blend into long hallways of photos. It’s that same fresh wind of the season and says listen when I hear a special song, or the unique beckon of church bells - also something that the Mission Inn has. That tone is unique and cannot be duplicated. There is an authentic experience in Riverside, and that is why I love it so much; it is the vibration of Holy Spirit. Riverside is also where I grew up, and I think some of the smaller, more refined details are lost on many people these days. They are coated in a fuzzy film that makes the pictures feel distant. I’m forever trying to remember what it was like to be a kid. To not be afraid, to hold a natural curiosity and inquisitive nature about things. To wander the walkabout.

The important thing is to know that just like this beautiful city, and much like the people that make up the fabric, they are valuable beyond measure. Not because of anything else, except that they are such because God says so. It’s building a house on a good piece of land and establishing a strong foundation to start with. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you, it matters how you start, what your intentions are, who you contract with and how you source the materials. No one can put a price on choice because it’s not something you can buy, these things, the foundational principal responsibilities, they just aren’t for sale. Even in a world wide marketplace, the American consumer has yet to put their finger on the thing we look for most in business; choice. Where CEO’s want to make money when they sleep we have forgotten how to include the Holy Spirit in our decisions. We must call on that most precious piece of the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 KJV

Let’s put a few common notions to rest;

#1 People are more important than money. The human has more worth than money.

#2 We are limited by what we do not share.

#3 When we only breed Olympic level achievement, we forget the laws of competition and the most important mechanics of good sportsmanship.

#4 When you outgrow your best competition, it’s time for a new lane.

#5 Today’s billionaire is tomorrow’s customer.

Again. Today’s billionaire is the customer of tomorrow. I will add that each of these notions and are written as their own vignette and lead into each of their own respective books.

We must step back and appreciate how far we’ve come, as a people, as a nation. What matters most IS the people, by the people and for the people. Looking at the original text of the foundation of our country. There’s no code, only definition, translation, understanding and God willing, progress. We are at our core a beautiful melting pot of meaningful origin. Nobody can compare you to someone else. You ARE the real McCoy, and nothing that can take that from you. It has ALWAYS been the people that defined business, enterprise and yes even fashion. From that we fashioned mercy into our courtrooms and courtyards. It’s important to acknowledge how hard it’s been to make the best out of a broken system. After all it may not be perfect. But it’s the best we’ve got.

The Vegan with the Leather purse is an essential story. The Vegan with the Leather Purse is the oil of the American well. It includes who I am just as much as how I got to this place in life, whether I did it with complete intention or without realizing it, I am my story and my story is my own. This is true for you too dear reader. It’s truly a representation of the song that is in my heart. Being one thing or another in category, whether it’s up, down, left or write, it doesn’t matter what industry you come from, or what country, what matters at the core of the heart is where you are headed. Your heart beats with purpose. Be it good, be it kind, be it wild and unknown. This book is merely a beginning guide, or rather a map if you will. It’s a starting place, a steppingstone to mark a place and move forward in your own life, with your own state wherever you are.

Step back and try a little harder to easy bake some