“More local color than a steamed lobster wearing wild blueberry bracelets, along with a mess of wistful nostalgia for any reader raised in Maine or New England.” —
Portland Press Herald
Nearly 70 renowned New England writers gather round the table to talk food and how it sustains us—mind, body, and soul
An award-winning collection of essays by internationally recognized and beloved foodies,
Breaking Bread
celebrates local foods, family, and community, while exploring how what’s on our plates engages with what’s off: grief, pleasure, love, ethics, race, and class.
Here, you’ll find reflections from top literary talents and food writers like
Award-winning novelist
Lily King
on connecting with her children over a tweaked chocolate chip cookie recipe
Pulitzer Prize recipient
Richard Russo
on the Italian soup his mother snubbed that he came to enjoy
Coauthor of
Mad Honey
Jennifer Finney Boylan
on how cheese pizza holds her family together through the good and the bad
About Grief
Brian Shuff
on how greasy takeout can be life-giving food for the grieving soul
Award-winning writer
Ron Currie
on the childhood shame—and adult pride—of your mother being a “lunch lady”
Author and homesteader
Margaret Hathaway
on building a community cookbook to bring food and family together in the early days of COVID-19
Other essays address a beloved childhood food from Iran, the horror of starving in a prison camp, and the urge to bake pot brownies for an ill friend.
Rich and flavorful,
brings together some of the most influential voices in the literary and food worlds to show how we experience life through the foods we eat.
Proceeds from this collection will benefit Blue Angel, a Maine-based nonprofit founded by writer and
coeditor Deborah Joy Corey to combat hunger. The organization purchases food from local farmers and delivers it directly to families in need.