In addition to carrying an ‘idea’ notebook and writing in multiple journals I also often email myself ideas I don’t want to forget.
This is an idea for a book proposal that I emailed myself over a year ago.
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Book Proposal, January 10, 2009
There are many books written about vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic diets. Most are dry and filled with vitamin and mineral facts and detailed descriptions of diet related disease research, but few tell the story of what these life supporting diets really mean to people, and to women in particular.
Regardless of the changing gender roles in our society women still represent home and hearth and in most cases are responsible for the care and feeding of their families. Women have a unique and often adversarial relationship with food. Food plays an integral and central role in society and families.
Celebrations are nothing without food and drink, birthdays, holidays, family gatherings, sporting events, etc. But, our relationship with food goes even deeper than that. Food connects us to the earth and to all that is Divine. When we move beyond the advertisements and commercialization of food we recognize the deep connections between what we eat and who we are.
Consuming a diet closer to the earth, and in balance with the universe offers us so much than just life support for our physical bodies. A natural, wholesome diet eaten in balance with the world around offers us the opportunity to live in peace and harmony, to connect to the Universe, to God, to the Divine, and to every other living thing on the planet.
Women are the recognized care givers and stewards of both the family unit and the planet. In this book I propose to share not only the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of a natural, whole foods diet, but the stories of the women who practice and incorporate a whole foods diet into their whole lives and the lives of their family and friends.
I would solicit the personal essays of women who are the leaders in the natural foods, vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic and raw foods movements and have them tell their stories of what this diet means for them and how it has changed and impacted their lives and the lives of their families.
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Sample group:
Mary McDougall, author and wife of Dr. McDougall and proponent of a vegan diet
Jessica Porter, author of “The Hip Chicks Guide to a Macrobiotics”
Lindsey Wagner, Movie and TV Actress, author of “High Road to Health: A Vegetarian Cookbook ” and a vegan diet proponent
Christina Pirello, http://www.christinacooks.com/
Virginia Messina, RD, http://vegrd.vegan.com/
Freya Dinshah, wife, founder of the American Vegan Society
and Moira Nordholt, http://feelgoodguru.com/ (I added Moira today.)
Stories are what moves us. Stories are the way we remember and relate. Storytelling has been used since the dawn of mankind to teach, to share and to remember.
Facts and figures are a wonderful support for sharing knowledge, but it is the stories that we remember and repeat to one another.
It is the stories we will remember when shopping and when we need to make a choice between the freshly picked corn on the cob, or the canned cream corn; the crisp, fresh apples, or the fat laden and sugar filled apple turnover.
It is the stories we remember when we decide to stop at the local produce stand to buy a summer sweet watermelon or basket of green peppers.
It is our story we will pass on to our children as we teach them by example to live in accordance with nature and respect their own bodies and minds.
It is the stories that are passed on from one person to another that help people change and build the foundation for a new and better worlds.
I always think about writing the books I want to read.
I have read extensively on the topic of the relationship of food and nutrition to health and disease.
The problem is that facts and figures often have us operating from a foundation of fear. Fear does not lead to permanent, positive dietary or life changes. We are sick, overweight and living in fear. Fear leads to immobilization which leads to hopelessness.
Stories on the other hand inspire us and give us hope. Stories teach us by example. They help us live from a foundation of hope, forgiveness and self-acceptance.
That’s why I want to write this book. I want to live from a foundation of hope, not fear. And, I want to inspire others, to help others, and to make a difference.
Will I write this book? I think so. Maybe not today, but one day.
Is this a book you would like to read?
Wow, Margot, the Ten Lost Years sounds fascinating. It is amazing what people went through to accomplish their dreams in the past. Thanks for the support!
No title yet, but lots of ideas. Since sharing this idea I couldn’t stop thinking about how to make it happen. And, I’d love working with you. This is a project I might just start sooner than later.
yes yes yes! i’d read it too! and help you write it! thank you for including me on your list:) do you have a title?
Oh YUM! Yes, yes, yes, I would read this book. I think back to a favourite book of mine The Ten Lost Years (out of print now), written by Barry Broadfooot, about the depression in Canada. This is a subject that was shoved under the rug. No one wanted to remember it. It was such a revolting subject that the 2nd world war, when it came, was celebrated. Even the school texts only gave mention to those years with one paragraph. Broadfoot travels from East to Western Canada, visiting in coffee shops, asking the question of the old folks there “do you remember anything about the depression?” The answer was invariably “No…. well, there was the time that….”.
In his book he retells these stories, rich and full of Canadian history. Full chapters on what women had to do to get a job (shiver), and how the crazy Britts, Scotts and Irish (some my ancestors) came to seek their fortune in a $10 farm that they broke their backs clearing by hand. They came with chandeliers and pianos, but had no way to transport them so they left them on the muddy trails, now highways. The had dozens of children, many of whom died of starvation or sickness (easily cured now) or simply because there was no doctor close by. More words on the soddies that they lived in, made of mud (yet they had their precious china and crystal). And of loss, simple joys, and dreams.
Tell your stories!
warmly,
Margot