I've had the good fortune to contribute chapters to books in the past but being included in Bread, Body, Spirit: Finding the Sacred in Food gives me unspeakable joy. It is a collection of short essays, poems, and prose spanning the ages with work ranging from the Quran to Barbara Kingsolver. The essays are grouped into themes such as The Garden, Cooking, Serving, Compost, Feasts, Eating, etc. My piece: Lemon Love, about the transformative power of a Meyer lemon tree is in The Garden section.
What I'm most proud of, however, is opening the table of contents to find my name listed with such luminaries as Grace Paley, Mary Oliver, Ram Dass and Lauie Colwin. It is a book that celebrates the things I truly love the most--food and the sacred. I can't wait to read it all.
Bread, Body, Spirit is published by Skylight Paths Publishing, a small publishing house out of Woodstock, Vermont. You might be able to find a copy at a big box bookstore or even a small independent one. Ask them to order it if it isn't on the shelves. You can also order it here. I won't collect any royalties--I just want to share what I think is a book you'll turn to for inspiration time and time again regardless of your spiritual tradition.
Yay!!!!
Ok, wow. I will see if I can get the book -- and review it on my blog! Wow. As you know, perhaps, I teach religious studies -- and though I restrain myself from teaching about food and religion because I want some part of my life to be separate -- I would love to read this.
Posted by: bibliochef | June 06, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Congratulations! That sounds like a wonderful book and I look forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing the information.
Posted by: Terry | June 07, 2008 at 06:55 AM
Bibliochef--email me offline and I'll see that you get a review copy.
Terry--thanks for the kinds words. And thanks for commenting--I'll look forward to exploring your blog too.
Posted by: Jennifer BB | June 07, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Hm, a review copy, hey? Congrats, Jennifer, that is an INCREDIBLE accomplishment. If there are such copies to be had, for certain rookie bloggers to review, a certain someone would love and appreciate one as well. :D
Posted by: Jennifer | June 07, 2008 at 01:27 PM
Remember when I mentioned that a friend had said that you were kind of a big deal - ummm... yeah. You are! What a joy and blessing, I look forward to a great read.
Posted by: Rachel | June 11, 2008 at 04:55 PM