Happy Colon, Happy Soul

This book is an exploration of how we share food with others, particularly our vulnerable neighbors. In these pages, some of Vancouver's more colorful souls will tell us about the costs of poverty and privilege, as well as the long, slow heart shifts we experience on the journey toward healthier eating. Sharing food and making a space where those on the margins are welcomed is both delightful and difficult. There is no manual on how to do this. No two moments are ever the same, and the way each of us prefers to eat is as unique and personal as our signatures.
Through these stories, we can hopefully learn to nourish ourselves and our neighbors a little better. Do these pages contain the recipe for a happier colon? And a happier soul? Pick up this book to find out.


""Happy Colon, Happy Soul is a call to a new vision of caring for those most vulnerable among us and a delight to read. Through moving stories, Giesbrecht, dietitian cum carer-of-souls, illuminates the spiritual power of food, table fellowship, and welcoming the stranger. In her honest, funny, humble, and compassionate voice, she shows how sharing just, sustainable, and nourishing food in kinship--honoring individuals' dignity while meeting complex community challenges--transforms workers, volunteers, and guests.""
--Mary Lane Potter, author of A Woman of Salt: A Novel and co-author of Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside


Karen Giesbrecht is a registered dietitian with a particular interest in mental health, strong communities, and real food. At home in Vancouver, Canada, Karen takes great delight in sharing good meals with her family, friends, and those in her community who know hunger.