Wow, thank you for writing this. I also used to have a fear of certain foods--literal fear! It was such a hard way to live and I'm so glad I was able to get help.
I love your thoughts about community and food. I recently relocated from a crowded townhouse community in the city to a much more spread out suburb in a smaller town and am trying to figure out how to establish a community here. My dream is to have standing Friday night pasta nights where a rotating cast of neighbors feel welcome, adults talk late into the night, kids run wild, and we really get to know and rely on each other.
community and food 🫶🏻 this takes me back to summers in Queens where we would have parties with all my favorite foods and we would fill trays with fresh zeppoles and all share. I miss it deeply!
“and I, like many high-risk people, am trying to figure out how to navigate living a connected life when many people have opted to center their individual health without consideration for the whole.” I could not have said it better myself, thank you 🍓💌
THIS is so important for everyone to read, but should be essential reading for folks who work or have worked in the wellness industry. as an ex-employee of a "wellness-centered" media company, i can deeply relate to being on slippery slope that is the wellness-to-antivax pipeline, to the harmful ways capitalistic ideals have been imbued into well-being & have shaped it into commodity (looking at you, Gwyneth). i have so much to say, but for now i wanted to thank you for putting words and structure to the ideas that have lived in my head, in voice notes, in conversation for a long time <3 "They say it takes a village, but what happens is one village can't access the same things as another?" this is something i'll be thinking about for a long time.
Sam I really love your approach to caring for your friends. The moments of my life where I have felt most held were when I was offered gentle care without even having to ask, and without any expectation. At the lowest moment of my entire life, my best friend picked me up just by asking if I was ready to go to breakfast. I appreciate this reminder and the soupspiration!
Sam, this newsletter couldn't have come at a better time. As someone who has grown up with disabled individuals, and has become one myself, I think pushing ourselves and our communities towards concepts of inter-dependence is the true way to go. And using food really does seem like a natural medium for that. (Doesn't food just taste better with others? lol) Thank you for writing such an excellent piece. Waking up in my childhood home, where we all live and rely on each other, it put such a smile on my face to see "WE NEED EACH OTHER TO BE WELL." Absolutely.
Sam, I cried a lot reading this -- tears of joy, for someone putting into words how I feel about community care (feeding others is how I show my love to others) -- and tears of rage for how diet culture and wellness culture and Gwenyth and her ideas are still so pervasive, and how they still fuck with me. Also, so appreciative of you naming all of the amazing Black & brown folks you’ve learned from, some I have also learned from and some I am looking forward to getting to know. You are a gem to the internet and I am so glad to have found your writing. Thank you for all that you do and all that you are.
Wow, thank you for writing this. I also used to have a fear of certain foods--literal fear! It was such a hard way to live and I'm so glad I was able to get help.
I love your thoughts about community and food. I recently relocated from a crowded townhouse community in the city to a much more spread out suburb in a smaller town and am trying to figure out how to establish a community here. My dream is to have standing Friday night pasta nights where a rotating cast of neighbors feel welcome, adults talk late into the night, kids run wild, and we really get to know and rely on each other.
community and food 🫶🏻 this takes me back to summers in Queens where we would have parties with all my favorite foods and we would fill trays with fresh zeppoles and all share. I miss it deeply!
“and I, like many high-risk people, am trying to figure out how to navigate living a connected life when many people have opted to center their individual health without consideration for the whole.” I could not have said it better myself, thank you 🍓💌
THIS is so important for everyone to read, but should be essential reading for folks who work or have worked in the wellness industry. as an ex-employee of a "wellness-centered" media company, i can deeply relate to being on slippery slope that is the wellness-to-antivax pipeline, to the harmful ways capitalistic ideals have been imbued into well-being & have shaped it into commodity (looking at you, Gwyneth). i have so much to say, but for now i wanted to thank you for putting words and structure to the ideas that have lived in my head, in voice notes, in conversation for a long time <3 "They say it takes a village, but what happens is one village can't access the same things as another?" this is something i'll be thinking about for a long time.
Love this - thank you for sharing! Community and food 🧡
Sam I really love your approach to caring for your friends. The moments of my life where I have felt most held were when I was offered gentle care without even having to ask, and without any expectation. At the lowest moment of my entire life, my best friend picked me up just by asking if I was ready to go to breakfast. I appreciate this reminder and the soupspiration!
Sam, this newsletter couldn't have come at a better time. As someone who has grown up with disabled individuals, and has become one myself, I think pushing ourselves and our communities towards concepts of inter-dependence is the true way to go. And using food really does seem like a natural medium for that. (Doesn't food just taste better with others? lol) Thank you for writing such an excellent piece. Waking up in my childhood home, where we all live and rely on each other, it put such a smile on my face to see "WE NEED EACH OTHER TO BE WELL." Absolutely.
Sam, I cried a lot reading this -- tears of joy, for someone putting into words how I feel about community care (feeding others is how I show my love to others) -- and tears of rage for how diet culture and wellness culture and Gwenyth and her ideas are still so pervasive, and how they still fuck with me. Also, so appreciative of you naming all of the amazing Black & brown folks you’ve learned from, some I have also learned from and some I am looking forward to getting to know. You are a gem to the internet and I am so glad to have found your writing. Thank you for all that you do and all that you are.