From the May 21st, 2007 Newsletter from Arnold's Way Health Food Store, PA.
By Arnold Kauffman


It is a Monday evening, and I just had the most amazing experience. 
I met a woman who was just like me.  I could not believe it. 
Everything she did, every word she spoke, every action she consciously took was
for the benefit of not only for her self, but was for a better world. 
Not that I am amazing, but she was definitely on my list of women that
I greatly admire. Her name is Angela Stokes. This Newsletter is
dedicated to her.  Angela, who was our featured quest speaker at my store last
night, spoke eloquently, truthfully, and most importantly, she spoke
from her heart with great passion, with all of her soul, and with every
ounce of true vulnerability to get her message across how raw food
helped her lose 160 pounds. 

    The story of this newsletter takes on many sides, many views, and
many insights of what Angela said and what she didn't say.  Angela spoke
last night in front of approximately 25 people.  In the audience were
mostly women, mostly young, and most there to see Angela whose major
claim to fame was losing 160 pounds of which 105 were lost during the
first year. Angela also went on a 92-day juice feast which she chronicled
through her blog and had written up in book form as an inspiration to
millions of others who want guidance and wisdom to give hope and
understanding that losing weight is not only possible, but doable, for all to
achieve on a permanent basis.
 

   Angela, in five short years, has gone from a greatly obese young
woman of almost 300 lbs to a Hollywood starlet of incomparable beauty. In
five short years she went from a woman who had no idea what to do from
one day to the next to a woman with a life long mission to share the
truth of what raw food did for her life. She went from a 300 lb woman who
lived off of potato chips, chocolate bars, orange soda and on a
constant carbohydrate binge to a dazzling 135 lbs. (I'm guessing) well built
woman with gorgeous skin who lives on a 100 percent raw diet.
   
 
  Five years ago, Angela was a volunteer at an Eco village in Iceland
when, for whatever reason, she began reading Raw Family, a story about
Victoria Boutenko who also weighed about 260 lbs, and who went on a raw
food diet and lost 135 pounds.  It was from that moment on that Angela
decided not only to dedicate her life to not only eating a mostly raw
diet, but dedicated her life to sharing with the world the benefits of a
raw lifestyle.
   
 
  It was under these circumstances that I met Angela at the train
station.  She was carrying one of those huge knapsacks that gave the
impression that this person has been on the road for a long time. In Angela's
case, the humongous backpack she was trudging behind her was just for
that reason. It was literally her home. When I picked up Angela at the
train station, I was also picking up her home. Everything she owned,
everything she needed, every worldly possession was in that bag.  Angela
lives a sparse and frugal life with the utmost joy of being in harmony
with life and nature. She flowed with the wind. She allowed time and
situations to determine her course. Angela has been doing this lifestyle
approach for five years. For five years, she has been living out of her
suitcase; for five years, she has been going from town to town and is
going from country to country, doing whatever it takes to spread the
word of the benefits of raw food.
   
 
  Angela stayed at my house that night. She unfolded her suitcase.
Everything was in perfect order.  Everything was folded neatly. By
appearances, it seems that, according to today's standards, whenever we see
one's total life's belongings contained in one suitcase, we look at this
state as being of extreme poverty, extreme sadness, and that it is such
a shame that a grown woman has to live like that. But what it appeared
to be, and what actually became apparent to me could only be called
miraculously incongruent to what we could assume to be the case.  Angela
was living a life of being joyously happy. I watched her every moment
from talking about her life to being so ridiculously happy just eating a
banana whip. I watched her reaction when my two young roommates ages 6
and three woke her up in the morning. Angela was in total ecstasy
enjoying the experience of sleeping on a small couch with barely room for
her legs to be extended. She was in total ecstasy knowing she was the
focus of two young children watching her getting up.  She looked at them
with such love and peace. The spectacle of her happiness kept repeating
itself over and over.  I thought her body would explode when she was
eating a durian, and with every mouthful, Angela purred and yummed, and
her face reached such an extreme proportion of gladness that I felt I
was watching the Olympic version of someone skiing on a downhill slope in
total exhilaration. I could not believe the joy and love that Angela
exuded on every single action. Angela was a woman in love with her every
sight with her every movement with her every thought.  This, my
friends, is what raw foods is ultimately about.
 

   Every single moment is a moment of joy, of love, and of experiencing
life to the fullest. When one eats food in a pure unadulterated state,
it creates a transitional change within us. When one changes to a
mostly raw dietary lifestyle, the clarity of what is important and of what
is not important comes more into focus. Our bodies are genetically
designed for peace, for happiness, for love, and for experiencing that every
moment is a gift from above. I thank Angela for sharing her life's
story, and for bringing it to the world.

I thank you for your time.