Blessing the Hands that Feed Us: What Eating Closer to Home Can Teach Us About Food, Community, and Our Place on Earth

In September 2010 veteran sustainability activist Robin (co-author of Your Money or Your Life) consumed only food from her neighbor's small market garden or made within a 10-mile radius of her home on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, Wash to see if she could survive solely on locally produced food. She recounts how confronting her food beliefs and habits was the "last bastion" in her quest to live frugally and with integrity. The challenge drew her back into the world, calmed her own tendencies to overeat, and taught her the real meaning of community. Despite the restrictions of a 10-Mile Diet and costly government regulations that cripple small famers, Robin presents the ultimate freedom of self-sufficiency attractively, attributing a wide range of benefits to what she calls "relational eating"%E2%80%94from losing weight and ensuring good health, to forming lasting friendships and helping those in need. Readers may smile when hyper-frugal Robin decides that paying $5 a pound for locally raised chicken is well worth the money, and breathe a sigh of relief when she realizes that "local" is as much a state of mind as a geographical location. This is an idealistic yet practical effort, offering tips for creating sustainable communities and recipes from Whidbey chefs utilizing the island's bounty. Agent: Beth Vesel, Beth Vesel Literary Agency. (Jan.)