Cooking as Therapy
Depression
Months went by while I stayed in a hard bed in a cold room filled with stale farts. I was alone, and the world seemed unsafe.
One morning I picked up a book that had been sitting on my desk for over a year. It was Hiroko Shimbo’s The Japanese Kitchen: 250 Recipes in a Traditional Spirit. I cooked through that book much like Julie Powell from Julie and Julia (sans blog) and learned everything I could about Japanese culinary techniques, equipment, and ingredients.
I made everything from chicken teriyaki to ramen from scratch. It was an experience that I found wholly therapeutic. Much like my discovery in Mr. Wright’s class, I felt alive, as if I had unlocked a new calling.
I spent some time cooking for friends and family and fell in love with how food could bring us all together. We all have our own food memories. My best ones are those when I cooked for someone and made their day just a bit brighter.
It made me feel brighter as well. And, in time, I was ready to go back to school.
