Making a Difference, Anthony Bourdain, and a New Book

Hi guys,

how are you?

This month’s newsletter, as it appears to have become the norm, will be brief, and straight to the point; I am, again, writing the day before publication.

The other day, on my way to some errands I can’t recall, I listened to Air Talk on KPCC, one of my favorite shows. Larry Mantle, the host, was interviewing Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, book author and psychiatrist specializing in addiction.

As they discussed addiction to social media, especially in young people, the lack of curiosity for the world, of marvel for the world that the new generations are at risk of losing, because of the radicalization and the instant gratification of Instagram and the likes, I had two important realizations about my own life.

The first one, was that I had to get off the Tik-Tok-style addictive reel trend, for my own sake, for the sake of my creativity, of what I stand for in the world, and for where I want my career to move toward. And the second one is that, as I get older and continue to work on myself, I increasingly want my work to be of service rather than be “famous”. 

I want, like Dr. Kardaras and Larry Mantle, to leave a sign, something of true value to this world, to my community, to my daughter’s generation. 

In my experience, a long time passes between realization and actualization, as I am one who needs to reach bottom; but not this time.

As soon as I opened my eyes to what I didn’t like about the way I carried out my work, I began to notice who were the people I truly admired, as writers, chefs, artists. 

And none of them had bitten into the “Tik-Tok” apple. 

Almost instantly, I began to notice more Instagram posts and videos about Anthony Bourdain, Fanny Singer, Alice Waters, Nigella Lawson. It was almost as if, when I became ready to reset, everything became clear.

A week later, as I drove to my friend Marthe’s, I was surprised by a sense of urgency to start writing again. I had been thinking about a new book; I knew what the general theme would be. Yet, on that day, shortly after the Air Talk episode, sipping a watermelon, cucumber and cayenne pepper juice, I knew exactly what I wanted to write. 

When I returned home I started the new book and wrote the first 1064 words of introduction. I felt invigorated, excited, curious, like I had not been in a while.

This past Wednesday, I talked to a friend about some work we are doing together. I was disappointed at the result. 

“I am trying to surrender,” I said, “but I keep hustling my way back into controlling and wanting.”

“What is your idea of surrender?” she asked.

Only then, I understood that my idea of surrender was faulty. 

I wanted surrender as in complete absence of want, desire, passions. No wonder I was disappointed and frustrated. I wanted something that, in the past, I got from from drugs, alcohol, cutting, trowing up, from toxic relationships. I wanted to not feel, just coated in spirituality frosting.

When I considered the idea that I could be surrendering by simply doing the work toward surrender, I felt a sense of possibility, contentment, of grounding.

And I kept writing.

Updates:

• The new book will all be about vegetables, making them the star of the dish. And it also is a love letter to Catherine, to my relationship with her, to why I love cooking vegetables with her so much: to change the course of history, to break a chain with the past, and seed something new for her future.
• We visited the Sequoia National Park with my parents, saw a beautiful bear, and the Milky Way
• I am still struggling with my body and my hormones, but my hair loss may be slightly improving
• I was able to return to a few Tracy Anderson classes, and I am very happy about it; no pain so far
• I have 3 new recipes coming out throughout October, one for Oxfam, and two for Seela.org and the Hollywood Farmers Market!
• This month’s cooking class was a real success, and also the one with the highest attendance; we made gnocchi and I am loving cooking with you on zoom. You are still in time to hop in and join the October class!
• I will be at the Hollywood Farmers Market for the holidays to sell hardcovers of Eating Again and give out samples of my baking: stay tuned for dates.
• I am ready to get into full Halloween mood, creepy house and all. For Halloween, I’ll be the Wicked Witch of the West.

Love you guys,

See you next month.

Alice