~Patrick Carolan, Class of 2024
Food is a Journey
Culinary Culture is a Large Part of Life
“Food is our common ground”
How the Other Half Eats
Thinking of others is more than a one-time thing. The book, How The Other Side Eats, by Priya Fielding, challenged me to reflect on my life and how lucky I am while making me think deeply about how others live. In How the Other Side Eats, by Priya Fielding the author attempts to grow empathy within the reader’s mind by exploring different experiences. The strong, personal writing forces the reader to understand and dive into the life of the people in the narrative.
Ruth Reichl focuses a little more on the importance of food where she focuses on the connection between food and identity:
“Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.” .
How the Other Side Eats follows Priya as she explores global traditions revolving around food, specifically putting emphasis on the power of food and how it “fosters empathy”. Through meetings with many different people with differing backgrounds, the author dives into the rich history of food, and that is where the conflict is presented. The conflict comes from the divides she finds culturally and the experiences she encounters that are shaped by access to resources. Over the whole book, Priya finds herself tracing to places like Mumbai and Sri Lanka to prove cultural stereotypes wrong. Putting thought into her experiences, she reflects, “In tasting the food of others, we learn not only about their culture but also about our shared humanity,” which brings together the idea that food and culture are connected.
While reading, I found myself trying to be bored by the book, but I gave in and got interested in the dense plot. The idea that food can be such a large part of a culture was a major hook for me that allowed me to be empathetic towards people whose culture has to do with lacking resources. The research she did in faraway countries brought my mind together and showed me small connections between the cultures. These links all have small bases on food and empathy. I realized that I need to be more empathic for those who are less fortunate. I should be able to spot when empathy is needed and figure out when to use the skills I have to help
One could have said that before I am not an empathic man. But I believe that now after reading How the Other Side Eats I can confidently say that everyone should take every lesson this book gives you and run with them. It will make a difference for the better.
You hit the target on this book reflection. It follows the details of the design writing plan as well as any I have read. I feel like I am part of what you have experienced, and that is what a good book reflection can do. Be sure format your book titles and italics and then it will be perfect 😊