Dystel, Goderich & Bourret » health http://www.dystel.com/blog Fri, 23 Jun 2017 16:41:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.15 A dip into the waters of our culture http://www.dystel.com/blog/2012/06/a-dip-into-the-waters-of-our-culture/ http://www.dystel.com/blog/2012/06/a-dip-into-the-waters-of-our-culture/#comments Thu, 28 Jun 2012 02:34:17 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=7782 I’ve been having an interesting run lately with narrative nonfiction ideas that speak to a larger cultural conversation. I recently sold a book about breastfeeding by Kimberly Seals Allers that began as an idea after my first daughter was born seven years ago called The Big Letdown: The True Story of How Politics, Feminism, and Big Business Changed Breastfeeding, and I’ve just begun working on another parenting book that will explore the topic of angry parenting that appears to be pervasive in our society.

Then I saw this piece in The New Yorker that talks about several new parenting books and looks at why American kids are so spoiled, and how other cultures parent arguably more successfully than we do. The projects I’ve been working on also speak to a dysfunctional parenting culture in America, and open up the conversation to talk about how we got here, and more importantly how we can improve our lives. A couple of years ago there was a stir caused by a New York Magazine piece by Jennifer Senior (which will be coming out as a book at some point) called “I Love My Kids, I Hate My Life” which delves deeper into this topic. The success of the Tiger Mom tapped into this issue as well, and proved there is a large audience for books that approach parenting from the right angle.

All of this got me to thinking about whether there are other areas of our culture outside of parenting that have not yet been dissected in book form – science, food, politics, pop culture, education, and the arts to name a few. I’m curious to hear from our readers if you have any ideas or topics that would warrant further discussion. Anything you’d like to see on the market that isn’t already out there that you would find interesting, or useful? Let us know. There are so many subjects, issues and ideas to ponder!

]]> http://www.dystel.com/blog/2012/06/a-dip-into-the-waters-of-our-culture/feed/ 2 Gluten-Free Rules http://www.dystel.com/blog/2011/06/gluten-free-rules/ http://www.dystel.com/blog/2011/06/gluten-free-rules/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:49:41 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=5992 I had the pleasure of bumping into food writer Melissa Clark not once, but twice, in the last month. I was happy to learn she was working on a piece for her New York Times column about gluten-free cooking and baking, and that she’d be talking with my author and early advocate of the gluten-free movement, Shauna James Ahern of glutenfreegirl.com. The terrific article ran today and it highlights a number of gluten-free cookbooks that have hit the market in the last couple of years. As Melissa indicates, gluten-free has become mainstream, and it seems to me this is a direction that more of us will be going in over time. Our diet is literally making many of us sick, and eliminating triggers like gluten is one way to get back to the basics of natural whole foods, and a healthier, more balanced way of eating. I’m not gluten-free, and my kids and I eat more of the stuff than I care to admit, but I’m paying close attention to what’s happening in the world of gluten-free living, and I suspect I’ll be dipping my toes in those waters at some point. The gluten-free recipes I’ve made and desserts I’ve sampled are quite good, and with so many innovators like Shauna out there paving the way for the rest of us, it’s become easier, if not easy, to adapt to this lifestyle change. There are a lot of books and sites mentioned in this piece, but are there any other gluten-free cookbooks or websites you love that aren’t covered in this article?

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