health & liveliness

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First Novel

Literary bells are ringing
for local author Shelly Bell.

Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer

I

Shelly Bell bears a conspicuous
resemblance to Sara Friedman, the
heroine of her recently published book,
A Year to Remember. Although Bell says
her story is not strict-
ly autobiographical,
she admits that she
and her protagonist
do share a number
of characteristics,
the most prominent
being their mutual
struggle with food
Shelly Bell
addiction.
Both author and heroine have found a
solution through Overeaters Anonymous
(OA), a Twelve-Step recovery program
for individuals with various kinds of
eating disorders, including compul-
sive overeating, binging, bulimia and
anorexia.
Bell's experiences with this issue were
a major inspiration for the book. She was
tired dreading stories about overweight
women who got thin and then
lived happily
ever after with
the men of their
dreams.
"I wanted to
write a story where
the weight was a
symptom and not a
cure:she said.
Although the
book's main charac-
ter did eventually lose
weight after joining
OA, it was her spiritual
growth and self-acceptance, not the
number on the scale, that ultimately
led to inner peace and fulfillment.
Bell said that the OA program gave
her the tools to deal with life's challenges
in ways that did not involve food. At
the advice of a nutritionist, she gave up
eating anything containing wheat flour
or added sugar, a practice she still main-
tains. Her diet includes oatmeal, brown
rice, baked potatoes, meats and lots
of fresh fruit and vegetables. Not only
did Bell lose weight, but the stomach
problems that had plagued her for years
disappeared.
"If there is something I can't eat, my
kids say that I'm allergic to it': she said.
"It was difficult at first, but not once you
get the hang of it:'
While she is not, nor wishes to be, rail

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children. We love the warm, friendly atmosphere.
Go visit them - you'll be pleasantly surprised!"
Carolyn, Marlene & Loraine, daughters of Sara B

n American House Senior Livin communit

44 0 Orchard Lake Rd Wes't Bloomfield ;
regent8treetwesthiaornfield.com

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76 July 26 2012

t is no coincidence that local author

thin, Bell has a healthy glow, with dark
curly hair framing a pretty round face
with sparkling eyes and a ready smile.
There is no trace of the young woman
who once weighed close to 250 pounds
and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.
Although Bell was a happily married
mother of three when she wrote the
book, she used some of her own dat-
ing experiences as well as those of her
friends to chronicle Sara's search for her
soul mate.
"At 29, I was miserable': she said. "I
tried speed dating and dating services;
I had 25 first dates in one year. Some
of the worst ones didn't even make the
book."
Bell said that her friends and family
members tried to figure out whom the
characters in the book were supposed
to represent, but she insists that they are
strictly fictional, a combination of people
she knew with bits of herself thrown into
the mix.
"Luckily, I didn't offend anybody," she
said.
Bell finally discovered her own soul
mate under circumstances that were
different than Sara's but just as
romantic.
Shortly after her grandmother
died, Bell joined an online dat-
ing site sponsored by Aish.com .
A member named Jason Bell
caught her attention and, after
a few emails, she had a strong
feeling he could be "the one:'
Her first clue was his name.
"My mom always said that
when I met the right one, I'd
hear bells': she said,"and my
nickname growing up was
`ShellBell:"
At their first meeting, she knew her
instincts were right. The couple met
in January, became engaged during
Passover and got married in November.
"We were at the same place in our
lives; when we met I knew right away
that we were meant to be',' she said.
Bell grew up in the same Farmington
Hills neighborhood where she resides
today. After graduating from North
Farmington High, she attended
Michigan State University and went on
to get a law degree at Nova Southeastern
in Ft. Lauderdale. She serves as in-house
counsel for U-Metco Inc. in Detroit, the
fourth-generation scrap metal company
owned by her father.
Bell said her decision to write
stemmed from her background in musi-
cal theater, which included attending