A Mealtime Blessing by Bonnie Thompson Norman

I learned this mealtime grace when my children and I were visiting my dear friend Jill Littlewood who learned it from a friend of hers. The blessing concludes with a squeeze of hands that travels round the table from one person to the next. This book is meant to be like that pressing of palms: acknowledging with gratefulness family, friends and the bounties which some of us are so fortunate to receive. The book comes in a wrapper, which gives brief details of what living and working conditions have been for the people who harvest our food. It is intended to remind us that our food does not appear at our table without great effort on the part of workers in the field. This is a palm leaf book, based on indigenous book structures throughout Asia, India and the Pacific.