IN MEMORY OF BREAD

A powerful, personal account of a beer-brewing, bread-baking, wheat-loving guy who nearly dies as a result of an undiagnosed severe wheat allergy; how he copes with the loss of these staples; and what he discovers about modern industrialized wheat.

When Paul Graham was suddenly diagnosed with celiac disease at the age of thirty-six, he was forced to say goodbye to wheat, barley, rye, oats, and more. He lost more than just his favorite foods; the diagnosis also forced him to revaluate who he thought he was after the hobbies and simple pleasures that had come to define him were taken away in one fell swoop.

Struggling to understand why he had become allergic to so many dietary staples, Graham researched the modern production of wheat and learned that not only has its structural makeup been altered over the years, but it has also become a common additive to processed foods as fillers, stabilizers, and dyes. He turned to community agriculture and locavorism to fill the void left by his previous wheat-heavy activities and to secure unprocessed, and therefore uncontaminated, whole foods.

IN MEMORY OF BREAD provides the answer to those who have read the clinical descriptions of a gluten-free diet and gone through the endless recipes available, but are still longing for that human voice from someone who gets it. Written by a fellow survivor who also loves food and mourns the loss of his former life, this is the empathetic, moving, surprising, informative, and at times humorous perspective that will help them move forward with their life.

The author beautifully weaves together his personal loss with the realities of modern agriculture, creating a touching narrative for anyone struggling with a gluten allergy or interested in the state of our food system today.

Paul Graham is an associate professor of English at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York and his essays have appeared twice in the Best Food Writing anthology (2012 and 2013).