Female Nomad and Friends
Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World
By: Rita Golden Gelman
Published: June 1, 2010
Format: Trade Paperback, 352pp
ISBN-13: 9780307588012
ISBN-10: 0307588017
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
"I'm happy to own both the ordinariness and the craziness, especially if they encourage people to get out there and experience the exhilaration that comes from connecting", writes nomad and author Rita Golden Gelman, in her delightful and always serendipitous anthology Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World. The author presents her own words, and those of her many friends, as they share stories, food and recipes, and their special places around the world, in the joy of finding connections between people.
Rita Golden Gelman is not your typical travel and food writer. As a nomad, with no permanent address, the author travels the globe meeting with fascinating women, sharing stories and breaking bread as friends. The book is more than a travelogue, but is a collection of deeply personal connections. While the common bond may be wonderful food enjoyed between friends from all over the world, the stories are written and felt on a deeper emotional level. The tales are often funny, offbeat, and even quirky, but all are written from the heart, and create a lasting impression on the reader. The inclusion, by the author, of each of these memories displays her love of her life, of exotic adventures, and especially of her friends.
Rita Golden Gelman (photo left) and her friends don't write just for themselves. The stories are about life, and living it to the fullest with friends and making deep connections with others. The writers encourage others to follow their example, and take chances and meet new people, especially those who may not be met ordinarily. The author travels in the less developed parts of the world, including slums and other areas of extreme poverty. She visits with people who lack money, status, and even many of the aspects of modern living that are often considered essential. While the women with whom the author shares meals may lack material wealth, they are wealthy in terms of love, sharing, friends, and family. These stories are about what really matters in life.
For me, the power of the book is how Rita Golden Gelman and her friends share the spirit of making deep human connections. While the author travels the world, and meets women in very different homes, she always finds love and compassion. At the same time, the author and her many friends share meals. Since time immemorial, the breaking of bread together has meant friendship and shared experience. This book reflects that timeless tradition of sharing meals with others. As a special added bonus, the book contains many recipes for the dishes mentioned in the stories. By following the recipes, and sharing the food described in the collection, the reader is able to find a richer, sensuous connection with the writers and their lives. Because of her firm commitment to others, the author is donating the returns on her book to help the less fortunate.
I highly recommend the touching and memorable collection Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World by Rita Golden Gelman, to anyone seeking a book about food and travel that goes far beyond those topics, to include the rich tapestry of life everywhere. The author encourages risk taking in life, and stepping outside one's own comfort zone to experience the unusual and rewarding aspects of connections.
Read the wonderful book Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World by Rita Golden Gelman, and begin making your own interpersonal connections. You don't have to travel around the world to share food with new and old friends. You can find joy and happiness through shared connection in your own home town or city. Become a nomad in your own life, and discover the richness and diversity of being with others.
