The Sacred Life of Bread

Name: The Sacred Life of Bread
ISBN: 9781506482231

Uncovering the Mystery of an Ordinary Loaf

by Meghan Murphy-Gill

Publisher

Broadleaf Books

Publication

Jun 13, 2023

Format

Hardback

Illustrated

Price

25.99

Dimensions

5.25 x 7.25 in

ISBN

9781506482231

Pages

239

Age

Adult 18+

Rights Sold

🌍 World Wide Rights Available

Description

The pursuit of bread, from the time a single grain is planted in the soil to the moment a baked loaf is broken and consumed, satisfies longings not only physical but spiritual. Nearly all the world's religions count bread-related proverbs and prayers among their sacred scriptures. In Christian tradition, bread is often referred to as life itself, thanks to its ability to meet the most basic need of all that live: sustaining food.

The life of bread is as ordinary as it is sacred. It offers a path toward understanding the inner workings of the world, ourselves, and the relationship between the two. In these pages, Meghan Murphy-Gill explores the world of bread and its rich meanings--from the exuberant joy of the hotdog roll to the inactive time as bread slowly rises. Engaging in a bread practice is both spiritual and process-focused, and bread invites us to community and communion in ongoing, fulfilling, and profoundly life-giving ways.

The making and breaking of bread are spiritual practices that reveal deep truths as well as pathways toward meaningful relationships with ourselves, our communities, and our environment. The book includes fourteen recipes.

Awards & Endorsements

Publishers Weekly

"Murphy-Gill gracefully weaves explorations of spiritual and physical sustenance, delivering some gems ('recipes are best when approached like written prayers... they offer insight into practice but never promise mastery') and concluding chapters with recipes for the likes of Finnish rye bread and pizza dough with black emmer. The result is an offering Christians will enjoy taking a bite out of."

Author(s)

Meghan Murphy-Gill

Meghan Murphy-Gill is an author, former journalist, and Episcopal priest whose formal religious studies and informal culinary education began in the same month of the same year and have been inseparably linked ever since. Her writing on food, spirituality, and culture has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Vice, New York Magazine, Modern Farmer, the Chicago Tribune, the Utne Reader, National Catholic Reporter, Sojourners, and U.S. Catholic magazine. She lives in Chicago with her family.