I would characterize Fat Gay Vegan as a self help book and tutorial that is written mostly for new vegans, single-issue vegans (meaning vegans focused solely on animal rights who haven't branched out to supporting other social justice issues,) or the veg-curious out there. I've been vegan over 12 years myself so I know going into reading books like this that there may not be much new information for me. However, I always like to keep an eye out for those working in the intersections between animal rights and other struggles for justice. I also just like to be open to books I may have as an option to pass on to a new vegan. This book fit both of those bills well.
One of Sean O'Callaghan's strengths in writing this book is something I would call a genuine and gentle preachiness. He offers the firm grasp of the importance of animals' lives that I want from a book on veganism, but he is kind and understanding of his audience. While the book is indeed trying to sway the reader towards intersectionality-based veganism, it also is light-hearted at times and holds the reader's hand throughout.
O'Callaghan shares about his personal life and journey which was a great way to put the reader at ease. Very few of us are raised vegan and I think it helps people to remember that. Hearing O'Callaghan's history as a once working class, gay, fat person also dispells a lot of the myths that all vegans are one type of person (usually pictured as thin, abled, upper middle class or wealthy, straight, and otherwise normative.)
O'Callaghan also did well to include brief interludes of voices from other perspectives in veganism so he was not just, "a white man telling you why you shouldn't be sexist, racist, ableist, and transphobic." It was clear that he analyzed extensively his place in the world, where he was coming from, and how that affected his ability to process things. Since I am coming at this book with over a decade of experience with making (and hopefully learning from) mistakes, reading books, and doing my best to practice intersectional vegan feminism, I cannot say for sure how a brand new vegan or veg-curious person reading this book would process it. But, I did find the way that O'Callaghan eased the reader into these complex ideas of oppression, and why they were critical to abolish along with animal expoitation, to be accessible to a wider audience than many such discussions.
O'Callaghan includes a section on vegan travel. He both understands how class plays into travel's inaccessibility and also offers tips on making travel more affordable and vegan travel easier. There are some opinions O'Callaghan has that differ amongst some vegans (what counts as vegan, consumer activism, etc) but he offers well reasoned arguments for his. He finally ends each chapter with a little recipe that he sees as a staple of his own vegan diet which is a really nice touch. I haven't made the raw vegan ceviche yet but it's definitely bookmarked for my next grocery store trip.
Overall, this book would be a great primer for some people who are newer to veganism and social justice or for seasoned vegans who want to read an under-represented voice. It is firm but kind, direct but understanding. It is definitely one I would hand to a variety of people on a variety of journeys.
(Also posted to my goodreads.)
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