Finding plant-based recipes? Easy. Dealing with the social, cultural, and emotional pressures of being vegan? That’s the hard part.

Motivated by a desire to eat more healthfully or live more ethically, many people choose veganism as a logical and sensible response to their concerns about animals, the environment, and their health. Yet, despite their positive intentions, they’re often met with resistance from friends, family members, and society at large. These external factors can make veganism socially difficult-and emotionally exhausting-to sustain. This leads to an unfortunate reality: the majority of vegetarians and vegans revert back to consuming meat, dairy, or eggs-breaching their own values and sabotaging their own goals in the process.

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, known as the Joyful Vegan, has guided countless individuals through the process of becoming vegan. Now, in The Joyful Vegan, she shares her insights into why some people stay vegan and others don’t. Understanding that the food is the easy part of being vegan, Colleen turns her attention to what she believes is the most challenging-dealing with the social, cultural, and emotional aspects: being asked to defend your eating choices, living with the awareness of animal suffering, feeling the pressure (often self-inflicted) to be perfect, and experiencing guilt, remorse, and anger.