Growing up in a household of food-loving Italian-Americans, Marissa Landrigan was always a black sheep--she barely knew how to boil water for pasta. But at college, she thought she'd found her purpose. Buoyed by animal rights activism and a feminist urge to avoid the kitchen, she transformed into a hardcore vegan activist, complete with shaved head.
But Landrigan still hadn't found her place in the world. Striving to develop her career and maintain a relationship, she criss-crossed the U.S. Along the way, she discovered that eating ethically was far from simple--and cutting out meat was...