Your Body’s Environmental Chemical Burden was the winner in the Environment category of the 2020 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Cindy Klement.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The name of the book is Your Body’s Environmental Chemical Burden. It was released in November of 2018.
What’s the book’s first line?
In the fall of 2013, I attended a lecture on health where the presenter used the term ‘body burden.’
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
What are the health consequences of continued exposure to environmental chemicals throughout a lifetime, beginning in the womb? Scientists found an average of 287 chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborns including pesticides, flame retardants, consumer product ingredients, and industrial pollutants. And that’s just the beginning. Exposure to contaminants continues thereafter on a daily basis creating a “body burden” or, simply put, an accumulated slurry of chemicals stored in our bodies.
What are these chemicals used for in industry? How are we exposed? In which bodily tissues are they stored and how do they affect our overall health? Can we detoxify persistent pollutants? Better yet, is it possible to further avoid them? Referencing over 1500 published research papers highlighting the 25 most common chemicals affecting populations worldwide today, Your Body’s Environmental Chemical Burden not only provides answers to these questions but includes a comprehensive resource guide containing information on how to limit and even avoid future exposure.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I assumed that the burden he spoke of was that which most of us carry, meaning either our emotional burden or the burden of excess body weight. The term stuck with me for a very long time, piquing my curiosity. As a professor I have access to thousands of peer-reviewed scientific journals through the university online library, so one day I decided to see if searching ‘body burden’ would yield any published research. Much to my surprise over 420,000 journal articles were immediately at my fingertips and as I narrowed the search to only the previous three years, the database still revealed over 123,000 results.
As I scrolled down through the selection, I began to note that many of the articles were from prestigious journals such as Food Additives & Contaminants, Environmental Pollution, Environmental Health Perspectives, and Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, among so many others. After downloading and reading several of the studies I began to realize the term had more to do with the body’s environmental chemical burden than the emotional or weight burden.
The more I downloaded and read, the more alarmed I became and wanted to know which chemicals might be lurking silently in my body’s tissues. I questioned whether or not there may indeed be some stored toxicant that could explain the idiopathic vertigo I had dealt with for almost sixty years, and as I learned more and more about the effects that chemicals can have on our overall health, I became consumed with study.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
My hope is that every one of our young millennials will get their bodies and homes as cleared of chemicals as possible before bringing children into this incredibly polluted world. It’s important for them to detoxify their own bodies as much as possible so the sperm is vital and healthy, and so females have fewer contaminants to pass on to their infants through the placenta and through breast milk – something readers will learn all about as they review this text.
Everyone needs to be aware of what they can and can’t do to avoid adding to the body’s environmental chemical burden, especially those contemplating future parenthood. I sincerely hope this work helps guide you to the best health possible for yourself, your children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I decided it was time to share the information I’d uncovered with other people; however, I’d never written a book before. Sure, I’ve written two theses but never a book and I had absolutely no idea how to go about organizing the notes from my 1,500+ studies. Also, the story wasn’t pretty, and I was concerned readers may feel as overwhelmed and helpless as I did when I first began to understand the pervasive effects of environmental chemicals. After much contemplation, in January of 2015, I simply decided to open a new Word document and begin to tell the story, one chemical at a time.
Is this the first you’ve written?
Yes.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I continue to study the topic; I’m an adjunct professor at a local Michigan university; I write health education programs for companies; I consult with clients; and on a personal note I am a very active grandmother and love being in the kitchen and exploring the outdoors with my husband!
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
While writing this book I would sometimes spend 14 hours or so during the day when I was on a roll. Sometimes it was difficult to stop until I was at a certain point.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Best part is having my work recognized with awards and the satisfaction that all this hard work is really being read! The hardest part is getting the word out to why everyone needs to read this book. I’ve spent many thousands of dollars already to do just this (2 publicists, self-publishing costs) but have not had the success I’ve hoped for.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
You know, I would (and am actively seeking just that!) I am ready to rewrite the book and add more chapters and a whole lot more resources. I’d love to see this work go mainstream and the only way to do that is to have a well-known publisher promoting it. At least that’s what I’ve found to be true. Even with my large social media following, the word is not getting out as I’d hoped regarding exposures to environmental chemicals and what they do to our bodies.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Neither fame nor fortune. Authors don’t typically make a lot of money on books, unless they are famous and can sell a million or more. I’m more interested in getting this information into the hands of people so that they can take action to protect themselves and their loved one.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Because of her bravery, I am a fan of Rachel Carson. My work has actually been compared to Rachel’s Silent Spring where she exposed the dangers of DDT.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Interesting you should ask that. I never thought this would be the book I would have written. Never in a million years. What I truly wanted to write was a book for children about acceptance – accepting the differences in the way we all look (sizes, shapes, and colors) as well as acceptance and even a celebration of different religious beliefs, customs and food traditions.