Candia Lea Cole’s Born to Live Green is part memoir, part manifesto, and part eco-education handbook. Through her personal journey of battling environmental illness, she uncovers a deeper calling to live in harmony with the Earth and to mentor others in eco-intelligent living. The book follows her transformation from a teenager struggling with unexplained health issues to an advocate for sustainable living. She intertwines her own experiences with a broader message: our personal well-being is directly connected to the well-being of the planet. It’s a deeply personal and, at times, a poetic call to action for those ready to embrace a greener, more mindful way of life.

Cole doesn’t sugarcoat her experiences with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and chemical sensitivities. Instead, she lays them bare, allowing readers to step into her shoes. Her description of missing her high school graduation due to illness was heartbreaking. It wasn’t just about missing a party; it was about losing a rite of passage, a moment of celebration that every teenager looks forward to. That level of personal storytelling makes her journey compelling. She connects the dots between her health issues and environmental toxins, arguing that our modern world is making us sick. And frankly, it’s hard to disagree with her. The way she describes factory-farmed meat, chemical-laden foods, and the toxic household products we use daily makes you rethink your choices immediately. Her excitement about visiting a local food co-op for the first time was charming, it felt like a child discovering a hidden treasure. And the time she spent living off the land in a rural township was amusing, if not a testament to her hardiness in the face of hardships. I appreciated that Cole doesn’t just preach; she walks the walk. Her detailed descriptions of learning to detoxify her lifestyle, adopting whole foods, and engaging in sustainable practices are inspiring.       

The book’s second half shifts from memoir to mentorship. It invites her readers to witness her process of becoming an Eco-Mentor. She uses birthing metaphors to describe this process, such as “conception”, “labor”, “birth” and “postpartum blues.” Conception describes the spark of life she felt when she realized her new “life calling” –the calling to educate young people about eco-intelligent living. “Labor” describes the path that she paved to create an eco-leadership event for teens and young adults. “Birth” describes the eco-lifestyle curriculum that evolved from her work with young people, and it introduces the six principles of eco-intelligent living that a spiritual vision revealed to her. “Postpartum Blues” describes Candia’s “dark night of the soul”, an experience resulting from exhaustion, that found her disabled. Her disability, we learn, forced her to retreat from the “upper world” and descend into the “lower world”, a place that she describes as “the womb” of Mother Earth. In this womb, she finds herself “holding space” for the birth of a new earth and discovers the role that endurance plays in shaping a healer and feminine leader.    

What truly stood out for me was her belief that healing the planet starts with healing ourselves. She ties personal wellness to planetary wellness in a way that feels intuitive and urgent. At times, her passion borders on overwhelming (because personal and planetary healing can be an intensive process), but in a world where environmental activism often feels clinical and data-driven, her deeply personal approach is refreshing.

Born to Live Green is an intimate, heartfelt book that blends personal narrative with a powerful environmental message. She presents a hopeful vision of a world where people reconnect with nature and make conscious, sustainable choices. Her view of alternative education and self-directed learning is especially thought-provoking, it invites you to question how traditional education often stifles eco-awareness rather than nurtures it. The book is best suited for readers who are drawn to holistic wellness, eco-conscious living, and personal transformation. If you want a story that weaves together environmental awareness, self-healing, and a call to action, it’s a meaningful and inspiring read. Cole’s voice is passionate, urgent, and deeply personal, making this book a thought-provoking journey rather than just another guide to green living.

Pages: 257 | ASIN : B0BHQBPK5S