Tonight at dinner, I ordered a peach cobbler. Not always a fresh peach fan, my husband was a bit surprised that I ordered it. When it came cooked in it’s own little pan, with a scoop of fresh ice cream, I dug in. In a flash, summers from my childhood came to my mind and a film strip of memories played. I remembered my dad stopping at the roadside farmer’s stand and purchasing fresh from the orchard peaches each summer. Then we’d go home and make them into cobbler, or slice them and eat them with ice cream on the back porch.

There are so many foods that stir emotion in me. Most of the people I know have the same experience. One of my friends almost cried when she told me about eating at a local restaurant in her hometown with her current beau and how the memories of her granddad and the many meals shared there with him came to her during that time. But I’ve recently discovered that not everyone is so emotionally tied to food memories. What a joy to find a kindred spirit in Shauna Niequist!

In Niequist’s recent book, Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table, with Recipes, she shares stories about her life and the ongoing relationship she has with food. She explains her battle with her self image and how her love of food has effected that image. She recounts the food she has enjoyed while traveling around the world. At the end of most stories, she also share a favorite recipe. Throughout this unusual storytelling, Niequist opens up about her relationship with her husband, her family and friends, and the struggle with infertility. She shares the unbridled joy of giving birth to her second son and the accompanying fear that the newborn life arose in her. She ends the book with reflections on communion and the special place that the bread and wine hold in her heart.

This book was chosen for our July book club book at church and the resulting conversation was enlightening. Through discussing the book, we were able to get to know each other better through the tales of our childhood and the food that we remembered. One of the common experiences we discussed was communion and the meaning it has for each of us. We were reminded that this sacrament is to be shared in our faith community. Two very simple foods that hold so much meaning for us all.