Bless This Food: Ancient and Contemporary Graces from Around the World

Grace before meals is the prayer said most often in the home around the world. Perhaps this is because sharing food is a universal experience, one that fundamentally sustains life in community. Expressing thanks for food was thus one of the first acts of worship, linking the day-to-day to the mysterious and the divine. Both elegant and user-friendly, this rich collection offers blessings gathered with a scholar’s insight and a poet’s love of language. Simple yet profound words range from Shakespeare to Starhawk, Tecumseh to the Tamil tradition, the North American plains to Pakistan. Each grace is introduced with cultural context and fascinating detail about its history and evolution. The result is a kind of soul food — and a recipe for cultivating gratitude on a daily basis.