A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation

by Camille DeAngelis

#1 New Release in Art Instruction ― Explore the Connection Between Diet and Creativity

If you liked Brain Food, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself or Grain Brain, you’ll love A Bright Clean Mind.

Vegan Food is Everywhere: When people ask how author and certified vegan lifestyle coach Camille DeAngelis feels satisfied on a vegan diet, she thinks of the moment in James and the Giant Peach when the Grasshopper and the Centipede fret that they have nothing to eat until James points out that they're traveling inside an enormous piece of fruit. There is plenty, Camille reminds us in A Bright Clean Mind, a self-help motivational book for artists and creatives. Everything we could ever want to eat, and more, is all around us.

Imagine a Better Life: Because we live in a culture in which the eating and wearing of animals is taken for granted, we rarely recognize our limiting meat-centric mindset. But if we can employ our imagination to create worlds from scratch, we can surely use our imaginative power to envision a new way of seeing ourselves in relation to the animals we eat. On the other side of this brain transformation is a lifestyle that is ideal for our own health and emotional well-being and is much more environmentally sustainable.

Improve Your Work Flow: Camille believes that creative hobbies and habits reinvigorate one's primary work. But she knits, sews, embroiders, and bakes for the pleasure of it, too. Her productivity and brain power have been remarkable since going vegan seven years ago, and even more importantly, she no longer feels any of the frustration or uncertainty artists tend to accept as part of the creative process.

A Bright Clean Mind is perfect for every creative suffering from brain fog. In this book, you will discover:

The effect your diet may be having on your creativity and mood Examples of how going vegan is basically giving yourself brain food Ways to incorporate a vegan diet into your busy life

Genres: Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

About the author

I'm the author of three fantasy novels for adults—Immaculate Heart, Mary Modern, and Petty Magic. My young adult novel, Bones & All, won an Alex Award from YALSA and the American Library Association in 2016 (thank you, librarians!!) This little teen-cannibal road trip novel has been adapted into a film directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, and a bunch more stunningly talented actors. David Kajganich wrote the script, and I often say (0% kidding) that if I could go back in time I'd novelize the screenplay and put both our names on the cover. (Well, his name *is* on the cover of the spiffy new movie tie-in edition, but you know what I mean.)

Anywho, back to the bio! My favorite of my novels is my middle-grade debut, The Boy From Tomorrow. I've also written two books of practical philosophy: Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People and A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation. I also researched and wrote the first, second, and third editions of Moon Ireland.

I love reading and writing about the supernatural: my second children's novel (forthcoming!) is a ghost story, as is my first published short story, "The Coroner's Bride," now available from iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon. "The Coroner's Bride" originally appeared in Exotic Gothic 5, edited by Danel Olson.

CURRENT PROJECT: a retro-futurist screwball comedy. For updates, you can sign up for my (not too frequent) newsletter: http://bit.ly/cometparty

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me instead of using Goodreads messaging—I'm not on here often enough to give you a prompt reply! Thanks for understanding.**

Reviews

[Jennifer S. Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me caveat this review by stating up front that I am not vegan, but I have been slowly moving in a vegetarian direction and have swapped my "meatless Mondays" for my "plant-based Mondays" ("plant based" being a description that I prefer to "vegan" as it so clearly encapsulates what the eating method is all about).

The book is divided into parts, with the first linking veganism to creativity and how it can help bring out your more creative side. The second part has interviews with vegan artists of all stripes as well as short memoir-ish pieces from DeAngelis. These memoir pieces are my favorite, as she explores being vegan in her travels, with her non-vegan friends (and the disconnect of scuba diving in a gorgeous coral reef and then going out so her travel partner could have fish for dinner), and meeting others on their journey to veganism. The final part is tips and resources.

DeAngelis makes convincing arguments, but she also writes in a welcoming tone. She's not judging. The mere fact that you are reading the book makes you feel embraced by her. She emphasizes that she believes one should be vegan "in so far as is possible and practical."

For anyone who needs to unleash their creativity and wants to explore the idea of eating plant-based, I highly recommend this book.

[Karine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my book for 2021 about; a book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover.

I gave this book 2.5⭐️ , because it was good to read and had some good information that got me really thinking. The only thing is that it had too much and didn’t seem to have a nice flow. But, enjoyed it and learned quite a bit.

[E.F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

For non-vegans, this book offers an interesting method to cultivate and nurture inspiration with a bold challenge: reboot thinking through a lifestyle /perspective change. This is a book that tackles a big topic, reconsidering pathways to creativity, and that makes it a great read for artists in any field. For the already-vegan, this book provides a sense of community, making connections across many creative disciplines. The conversational tone is inviting and warm. Without judgements, DeAngelis' approach is welcoming to vegan and non-vegan.