Book Review: All Natural* by Nathanael Johnson

Turns out I was reading something old and something new from the very same press last week. Guess who?

When I heard about the new book “All Natural” by Nathanael Johnson, I was immediately intrigued.  There are not many writers who delve openly and honestly into questions about whether “natural” approaches to eating, childbirth, and medicine are actually healthier. Most people come at these topics with pretty strong leanings or an all-out agenda already in place. So those of us who want to figure it out for ourselves are usually left reading two wildly opposing opinions and trying to sort it out on our own. Nathanael Johnson offers a rare helping hand that might save some of us from late night Google searches about what to put in our children’s lunchbox or how to approach our next medical question. He delves into all of these questions and takes readers along as he speaks to scientists, offers historic perspective and generally travels around with an open mind and a sense of humor.

The research is thorough and as is the full rambling title,“All Natural: A Skeptic’s Quest to Discover If the Natural Approach to Diet, Childbirth, Healing, and the Environment Really Keeps Us Healthier and Happier.” What makes the writer’s perspective so unique is that he was raised by extremely natural orientated hippies and he is able to look back honestly at what worked and did not work for him without mocking or attacking his parents approach. He is not the conservative child of hippies rejecting how he was raised, but he looks critically at each piece before he decides how he wants to raise his own family. He is honestly trying to decide which pieces he wants to carry forward based on the best available science, not values and emotions. As a bonus, his personal story compelling and very funny and he keeps the reader laughing while we approaching topics that usually make people tense and angry instead.

When I read this interview in Mother Jones, I expected to relate to the writer’s perspective as a new parent struggling to make the best possible choices between nature and technology. It turned out I enjoyed the writing even more than I expected and I was surprised to find myself learning so much about topics I have already spent a chunk of my life thinking about like nutrition, farming and natural childbirth. I am fascinated by honest discussions about why so many of us are drawn to “natural” lifestyles. I am especially intrigued when the conversation includes discussions of real pros and cons rather than being rooted in one particular ideology. I can relate to his quest since I also spend a lot of time trying to make the right choices, which can sometimes leave me Googling late into the night. In the end, I often find myself splitting the difference.

For example, I chose natural childbirth in a very conventional hospital setting with all the precautions in place.  As far as nutrition, the food in our house is mostly organic and plant based but I will allow my children to eat artificially colored birthday cake outside the home (in fact they may be doing that right now as I write). It can be lonely and uncomfortable and sometimes I worry that I am not firm enough, but I seem to remain in the gray area much of the time. Other times I remain firm but see the irony of my choice.  Once I got on the beltway to return my “not natural enough” mattress and realized in traffic that I did not tie it down that well. So, I know, we need to keep all of this in perspective with the rest of the safety questions in life like driving with a poorly tied down mattress is (duh) super dangerous.  But it can be tricky and we all lose perspective sometimes so it is great to have books like this to help lead the way.

We need more writers like Nathanael Johnson exploring the gray areas beyond what we think we know, what we believe in and what we want to be true.  He wades deep into polarized debates and listens to many sides of conversations on natural childbirth, nutrition, raw milk and alternative medicine.  He travels the country, talks to all kinds of experts and visits fascinating places including farms, hospitals and natural birth centers.  Each chapter contains exhaustive research and historical perspective.  His stories about his own childhood keep the book rooted, funny and personal.

In the end, the book put me in a better position to make the hard choices I need to make as a mother, as a farmer and as a consumer of food and medical care. And while it can be uncomfortable and lonely to hang out in the gray area, it is probably where I want to remain, and it is good to know I am not alone! By the way, Nathanael Johnson is on a speaking tour right now, maybe you will be able to catch one of his events his schedule is here.

(My disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher, thanks Rodale! My copy is now available to loan to local friends.)

The Four Grown Ups: A Haggadah Supplement

This morning I was thinking and reading a little about the four children in the Passover Hagaddah, which are usually depicted as the wise child, the wicked child , the simple child and the child who is too young to ask. Every Haggadah will interpret these children a little differently, but they all have suggestions on how to parent each child according to their needs. While not directly related, I was also inspired by this piece by the Velveteen Rabbi about parents obligations at Passover to children.  And since the children were playing with magnetic tiles for a long time this morning,  I played with the idea a bit and turned it upside down for one more version.

The Four Grown Ups

The Baster: For the parent who is in the kitchen when the Seder is about to begin and says “go ahead without me, I am basting the brisket, ” you should praise this parent on her lovely alliteration and then gently remind her that as we once fled Egypt with unbaked bread, so tonight we can eat a brisket with one less basting.

The Helicopter Parent: For the parent who is so involved in teaching the children that he doesn’t learn a single grown up thing at the Seder and says, “go ahead without me, we are making baskets for baby Moses from these grape vines we gathered,” the helicopter parent should be reminded that parents have an obligation to learn on Passover too. The vines should be gently removed from his hands and he should be handed a grown up Haggadah, preferably by Maxwell House or the New American Hagaddah Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander.

The Zealot:  For the parent who is so involved in discussing an obscure midrash that she shoves off her child who has lost his page in Sammy Spider’s First Haggadah, she should be reminded that on Passover we also have an obligation to teach and to learn.

The Auntie: For the Seder guest who is not yet a parent and does not know what to ask, we should calmly explain that each child is different. There are millions of different kinds of children and parents, so four is kind sort of an understatement to say the least.

My Passover Parenting Fail

This piece originally ran at Kveller.com.

On the way home from Sunday school, my tiny children asked so many uncomfortable questions. They asked about God, and death, and bad guys, and then something even worse. That Egyptian child from the tenth plague was just temporarily frozen, I told them. Once Pharaoh realized his mistake all the children were fine. Then I desperately tried to change the subject, but it kept coming back.

My children watched Prince of Egypt in Sunday school this weekend. They didn’t watch a short excerpt either. They watched a pretty big chunk of the movie and it was nowhere near age appropriate. I was there and in hindsight I wish I had followed my gut and pulled my children out of the room. Sometimes I wonder if I am being oversensitive, all of the other parents were chatting in the other room. I was the only one in the room wringing my hands.

If I had previewed the movie, I wouldn’t have let my children watch it. When I asked the other mother who is a volunteer teacher about it she said it was very gentle. Before the scene on the plagues, I asked her how the movie handles the tenth plague.  She said, “Oh, it is very tasteful. It will go over their heads. It is just like a wind storm that comes through.” I don’t blame the teacher, other parent volunteers had canceled at the last minute and she was doing her best to fill in.

So I left my little ones seated, my tiny new 3-year-old and my sensitive nearly 6-year-old.  But when the scene came, it made my stomach wrench. It focused on the Pharoah’s adorable innocent son being hit by this creepy wind storm from God, and well, you can imagine. Next the small boy is covered by a white sheet and the Pharoah says to Moses, “Ok, you can go now” or something.  The crossing of the sea was rough too, but nothing compared to the boy with the sheet.

On the car ride home my 3-year-old said, “Why did God dead that boy.” These are moments I question everything, why do we even pass on scary stories generation after generation. Clearly, I do not believe it should be done through a video. I could have just reached for the remote, hit pause and suggested a story or game, but when I am in a community I don’t want to always be the trouble maker. It would have been better for all the children. I could have, but I didn’t.

It is so frustrating because Sunday school is a big effort. We rushed breakfast and drove 30 minutes away. And I have a feeling I will be digging out of this hole for a long time.  I wound up fabricating this lie that God was just trying to teach Pharoah a lesson. And all of the Egyptian children were happy in the end too.  My 3-year-old wanted to believe it, she kept repeating, “so God was doing a joke that wasn’t silly. The child did not really get dead-ed.”

My 5-year-old sort of believed me, but not fully.  And I don’t know if I should have been lying or not, but I do think we shouldn’t have even been having that conversation. And since we were all in the car together, I could not have a slightly older kid conversation with my son.  I did the best I could with my scrappy answers while trying to keep my eyes on the road. Parenting is hard, and messy, and this morning I am pretty sure I missed the mark.

 

It’s Tu B’Shevat – Happy New Year to the Trees

One of my favorite trees, Camellia Tree flowering in the snow

(Note: This piece originally ran on 1/24/13 in the Washington Jewish Week). Did you know Tu B’Shevat coincides with Shabbat this year and starts tonight?  A January Tu B’Shevat is one of the first signs that the Jewish holidays will come early this year. You may have heard that the first night of Hanukkah will fall on Thanksgiving this fall. We will have to stay on our toes and keep our Jewish calendars close at hand in 2013.

It’s not just the Jewish calendar that seems to be coming fast this year. Spring is on its way to Washington early too. Friends are already reporting bulbs emerging in their gardens, rosemary plants flowering and even a purple crocus.  While some years we really have to use our imagination to envision flowering trees on Tu B’Shevat, this year we can be a bit more literal and find actual signs of spring in our area.

Tu B’Shevat is the New Year of trees in Israel and the time that the almond trees burst into full bloom and many people plant trees.  Tu B’Shevat is a great time to think about what trees offer and to teach children a little bit about ecology, gratitude and Israel. Trees hold soil down to prevent erosion, clean our air and provide fruit, habitat for animals, shade and beauty. Here in the Washington area, it is too early to put tender saplings in the ground. We can still have plenty of snowy weather ahead. But it is a great time to go outside with children, search for signs of spring and do some tree related activities.

Some people recommend planting parsley seeds on Tu B’Shevat with hopes of using the parsley as part of the Passover Seder.  This is a very nice idea, but as a farmer, I know that parsley is very difficult to germinate even with a professional set up. It might be more rewarding to plant seeds that are more likely to offer instant gratification by sprouting quickly.  Green beans or sunflower seeds are favorites for planting with children.  Young children will enjoy labeling their plants and checking on them every day.

On my family’s farm we have a very young fruit orchard that always needs attention this time of year. Some of the trees need to be tied up and others need to be mulched.  Since the holiday falls on Shabbat this year, we will not work on the orchard. The holiday will still be a good time to take a walk on the farm and inspect the trees. As of now, they are predicting a cold day for Tu B’Shevat, we might even have snow on the ground. That is good, because locally our fruit trees need a minimum number of cold days and nights before they can flower and set fruit.  So if it is too cold for a family hike, remember it might be just the kind of day fruit trees need.  Weather you get to synagogue for a full Tu B’Shevat Seder or just manage to appreciate the trees around your neighborhood, I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday.

Babka Inspired Challah

This past Shabbat was cold and it was also sadly the end of Winter Break, so I felt we needed an extra sweet challah.  I bake challah almost every week, although I tend to slack off quite a bit in the summer when it seems wrong to turn on the oven.  But during these cold months, it is definitely high season for Challah.

I had been thinking about making a traditional babka based on this amazing looking recipe from the Smitten Kitchen which emphasizes the key to babka is the combination of cinnamon and chocolate (plus lots of butter).  I took that inspiration and tried a challah with plenty of cinnamon, chocolate chips, and extra sugar.  Otherwise I used my regular recipe and 100% whole wheat flour, so it was sweet and healthy too.

I will definitely be making this again, and I recommend it to any other bakers out there.  You just might have to be careful of little hands reaching in before you have said the blessings.  I don’t have recipe specifics, because when I make challah I sort of pour the ingredients into my mixer until it looks and feels right.  But you can start with any basic recipe and pretty safely wander off with additions!

I wish you a sweet week and thanks for reading!