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Hodder & Stoughton imprint Yellow Kite is publishing a book celebrating the therapeutic powers of baking: Bread Therapy.
The book has been written by Pauline Beaumont, a passionate baker, mother of six and counsellor at Newcastle University who has enjoyed the benefits of making her own bread for many years, including as an antidote to stress.
Described as "a self-help book with recipes", the book aims to offer both encouragement to the novice as well as "a new way of looking at the process" for the veteran baker.
Beaumont said the bread-making process is "full of gentle life lessons such as the importance of being mindful, creative and more compassionate towards ourselves" and her book "a rallying call to people everywhere to make their own bread and enjoy the wider benefits for their wellbeing, as well as the wonderful loaves they will bake".
World rights to Bread Therapy were acquired by publisher Liz Gough from agent Jane Graham Maw at the Graham Maw Christie Agency. The book will be published in the UK in hardback in September 2020. North American rights have been pre-empted by HMH and Russian rights sold to Azbooka.
In the context of lockdown, flour and yeast have lately become in-demand items, due to the large numbers of people beginning to bake their own bread at home.
Gough commented: "From the moment Jane mentioned this book to me last year I knew I wanted to publish it. I love the fact that this ancient skill has endured over centuries, that every culture holds its own bread close to its heart, and I’ve been fascinated by the resurgence in sourdough and homemade bread as an antidote to processed food for health and wellbeing in recent years.
"It has been very revealing seeing a shortage of yeast and bread flour during the Covid-19 crisis, which indicates how deeply we care about and find solace in making bread. As we spend so much time in our homes, we want to spend that time wisely where we can – nourishing our families and making our own bread.
"Pauline is the first author to examine the therapeutic importance of bread-making and it couldn’t be timelier, as we remind ourselves that making bread is an act of compassion for ourselves and love for others. The manuscript is in and I already love this book so much."