Facing Food: What Lies Beneath Our Eating Patterns Reading and Discussion Group

This fall, the Academy will host its second reading and discussion group, supported by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities. Using literary and historical texts, “Facing Food” will explore the varied factors that influence Americans’ current relationship with food. We will consider how history, culture, science, and politics have dramatically altered what, why, and how we eat.

Readings will be drawn from Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, Marion Nestle’s Food Politics, and Matt Fitzgerald’s Diet Cults, which will be made available to participants at no charge. Additionally, in each class we will explore a literary representation of food in fiction, memoir, or poetry that relates to that week’s theme.

Starting September 20, six sessions over seven weeks will give participants the opportunity to look at food from many perspectives. The group will be facilitated by Annie Robinson, MS, Narrative Medicine Practitioner, Wellness Coach, and Program Officer for Health Story Collaborative.

The reading and discussion group is open to all, but limited to the first fifteen participants to apply. If you are interested in taking part, please email culturalevents@nyam.org indicating why the program is of interest to you.

Facilitator: Annie Robinson
Annie Robinson holds a Master of Science in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. As Narrative Coaching Specialist at EDRS, Annie helps clients use writing and creative expression in their recovery. She also creates wellness and eating disorder prevention programming for schools, writes for the EDRS blog, and teaches mindful eating, yoga, and meditation to clients.

Annie also leads writing and self-care classes for healthcare providers and laypeople, and provides compassionate care for women during abortion, miscarriage, and fetal loss experiences as a full-spectrum doula. Annie is cofounder of Pause, Breathe, and Connect, a wellness community which offers workshops, classes, and retreats that explore the interplay between stories and somatic experience