New York — Janie Deegan is a lifelong New Yorker whose love of baking and running turned into sweet motivation and a second chance.
Deegan got sober back in 2013 after struggling with addiction and homelessness earlier in her 20s. One fateful day, Janie took what money she had left, bought a mixer and started baking. She says it led to a journey of healing and self-love.
Janie explains that, “when I felt like I had nothing to contribute to the world, I’d bring baked goods everywhere I would go. You see someone’s demeanor change when they have a really good piece of baked good or food, and they lift and lighten. And watching people do that helped me to lighten too.”
Janie eventually started selling pies through word of mouth and on Facebook. Things took off from there. Since then, she opened her bakery “Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods,” which has become famous for its signature pie-crust cookies.Around the same time she started baking, Janie’s friend inspired her to run the New York Marathon. Years later, she had a bit of a full-circle moment teaming up with New York Road Runners to create a special New York Marathon cookie. The week after the race, anyone who finishes can wear their medal into one of Janie’s stores to get a free cookie when they buy a marathon cookie.
