beautiful. insightful. inspirational.

Last year our family conducted food research in Sardinia and learned about Su Pan’ispeli’ (detoxified acorn bread), callu di cabrettu (goat stomach cheese) and tratelleria (intensive nose-to-tail goat dish). It took years to set this research up and ultimately was only possible because Sardinian food historian and author, Gisella Rubiu help make contacts and organized most of our research in her home village of Villagrande (next to Bill in pic). Despite the language barrier, we immediately connected with Gisella, who is one of the kindest people we have ever met. Her life’s work is so similar to ours and we remained in contact ever since the trip (Google translate is a wonderful thing!).

The time we spent with Gisella and the people of Villagrande was magical and, it turns out also moving for Gisella who included our visit in the final chapter of her latest book, In the World that Suddenly Changes. She asked Bill to write the afterward for her book and even invited him to speak at her book launch which took place this past Saturday. He unfortunately couldn’t attend since we were in Texas presenting at the What Good Shall I Do Conference. But, there is no way he would have missed the opportunity to celebrate Gisella, so the publisher zoomed Bill into the town hall in Villagrande for the event. Bill spoke along with Gisella, Alessio Seoni (the mayor of Villagrande), and Bachisio Bandinu (the most famous anthropologist in Sardinia)! It was a very special event and we were so honored to be a part of it. This is a great example of the powerful way that food can connect us and provide nourishment well beyond the simple nutrients it contains.

Below is the English version of the afterward Bill wrote for Gisella’s book. If the book is ever translated into English we will let you know immediately! In the meantime, we are still working on a guided trip to Sardinia, stay tuned!

Beautiful. Insightful. Inspirational.

These were the three words that first came to mind when reading Gisella Rubiu’s latest book, In the World that Suddenly Changes: between fear and courage, discoveries, dreams and transformations. It is with a great honor that I provide this afterward.

My family and I recently visited Sardinia as a part of a culinary research trip through our non-profit, the Eastern Shore Food Lab. We were seeking to experience and document certain traditional foodways. Our research would not have been possible without Gisella’s help. Perhaps the most rewarding takeaway from this research was the opportunity to meet and spend time with Gisella in person. Despite the language barrier, we connected over food. This illustrates how powerful food is as a vehicle through which meaningful connections are created and maintained. In fact, the relationship between Gisella and our family has continued ever since we left Sardinia. And now it is incredibly rewarding to be in the position to offer my words to support the important work of my friend. To do that, I will begin with a question that I believe is at the core of what Gisella is asking all of us to consider as we read, The World that Suddenly Changes – What does it mean to be human?

This is a question humans have been contemplating ever since we developed the ability to think abstractly. And, given the cultural explosion of artistic expression in the Upper Paleolithic, I am confident it began at least 40,000 years ago. I can imagine our ancestors asking themselves this as they gazed at the stars and fixated on the dancing embers of their fires. But, despite the millenia our species has been pondering this, it has never been called into question on a global scale like it did in the beginning of 2020 when the Covid-19 impacted the world and changed life as we knew it.

The initial reaction for most of the world as it climbed out of the horrors of the pandemic was to try to put it behind us, forget about it, and move forward. But, not Gisella Rubiu. Her response has been to do the exact opposite. Through thoughtful chronicling, she transports us right back in the heart of the pandemic as she experienced it and, consequently, provides us the opportunity for us to explore our own individual experiences alongside her.

The Covid pandemic was a destructive force. In addition to the fear, suffering and death that it created, it continues to be a divisive force. The wedge it drove between couples and families and communities spanned the globe. Unfortunately, even in this post-pandemic world, we have not fully recovered from its widespread polarization. One of the most important things about Gisella’s book is that no matter your stance on the origin of the virus, masking mandates, and vaccinations, you will connect with and appreciate the beauty of what she offers us through her thoughtful words.

Covid created the ultimate disconnect and as a result, the ultimate form of control because with disconnection comes fear, and uncertainty, and the ability to be manipulated. This, all while we as a species have never been more “connected” than we have ever been. The advent of the internet, personal computers, smart phones and smart watches have all given rise to social media which is social, sure, but much of it in artificial, superficial, and meaningless ways. For the past few decades, we as a species have clumsily attempted to navigate and balance in-person relationships with an exponentially increasing array of online social media. At the beginning of 2020, Covid ripped our in-person, meaningful relationships away from us overnight. In its wake, we were left with a void which created a significant imbalance. Sure, we felt thankful to have had the ability to “see” our parents virtually and to send our kids to their rooms each day to be “educated” remotely but, we cannot fool ourselves. None of what our computers and phones provided was the same genuine, nourishing connections that only in-person relationships offer.

Covid locked people in their houses, away from family and friends and community. And, therefore what permeates Gisella’s work is the reminder of the need for real connections, for relationships with the people and things around us. She accomplishes this through the lens of her own experience of the lockdown during Covid attributing many of the the causes to man who has himself been disconnected and ruins the ecosystem without concern for the future. This lack of connection results in a lack of nourishment. And, it is this idea of nourishment that brings us back to food and what it can offer us in terms of healing.

There is a very important reason why Gisella closes this thoughtful work with the story of a meal. The meal she wrote about was a very special meal with which I am honored to have participated. She uses it as an example of the healing power of food. No, not the healing power of just food, but rather of the entirety of what creating genuine, nourishing food means. This includes connection with the land and every thing we raise and harvest from it. This includes preparation of food, together in the kitchen while reflecting on loved ones no longer with us, sitting down and sharing food together. This includes carrying on traditions, building memories, and meeting all of our needs as humans – biological, cultural and emotional. That is what the power of real, traditional food can offer.

Listen to Bill’s talk

Read blogs about the trip

do you have the stomach for it?

What happened to the rest of the goat?