It's Not a Meal Without Bread (Paperback)

Stanton Green

ISBN 10: 1998315509 / ISBN 13: 9781998315505

Published by Inicio Press, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. How does a family become American? What gets carried forward--and what gets left behind?In late June 2019, just days before renowned environmental anthropologist Stanton Green was set to leave for his final field season in Ireland, a throat cancer diagnosis stopped him in his tracks. Instantly, his best-laid plans went awry. Stanton found himself transported not to a hospital bed, but back through a century of family history. What began as a diary of dreams during chemotherapy blossomed into this profound memoir that he had been putting off writing for a decade. In It's not a Meal Without Bread, Stanton Green explores his family's 100-year journey through immigration, identity, and assimilation. With a storyteller's heart and a scholar's lens, he invites readers into the kitchens, temples, classrooms, and baseball fields that shaped his life-from the tenements of Brooklyn, to the dig sites of Ireland, to a cancer ward in Manhattan. Relive the humor and heart of a Jewish upbringing: the cultural imperative of Grampa David's proclamation that IT'S NOT A MEAL WITHOUT BREAD at every Sunday dinner, the wild stories of Uncle Hy in the Brooklyn underworld, and the journey of a young man who becomes an activist, an archaeologist, and a "baseball anthropologist."Stanton weaves together an intimate, anecdotal feast of a life lived with intention and love. This is a story of intergenerational connection, the great Jewish migration to America, and one family's assimilation from the tenements of the Lower East Side to the suburbs of Long Island. Ultimately, it is a testament to the enduring moral imperative to "heal the world," and the deep wisdom found when one looks back on a life well-loved-and, not least, one's life feast, served with bread.Part memoir, part love letter to family and culture, this is a story of connection across generations-and the healing power of remembering who we are. Green offers a powerful reflection on what it means to "become American"-and what we risk forgetting if we don't tell our stories. In It's Not a Meal Without Bread, Stanton Green uses his cancer diagnosis to trace a 100-year Jewish-American journey. From Brooklyn tenements to Irish dig sites, he explores how stories and rituals sustain identity. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781998315505

Bibliographic Details

• Title: It's Not a Meal Without Bread (Paperback)
• Publisher: Inicio Press
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1998315509
• ISBN 13: 9781998315505
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

How does a family become American? What gets carried forward--and what gets left behind?

In late June 2019, just days before renowned environmental anthropologist Stanton Green was set to leave for his final field season in Ireland, a throat cancer diagnosis stopped him in his tracks. Instantly, his best-laid plans went awry. But the subsequent year-long cancer ordeal unlocked a profound stream of memories, driving him to write the memoir he had been putting off for a decade.

In It's Not a Meal Without Bread, anthropologist Stanton Green explores his family's 100-year journey through immigration, identity, and assimilation. With a storyteller's heart and a scholar's lens, he invites readers into the kitchens, temples, classrooms, and baseball fields that shaped his life—from the tenements of Brooklyn, to the dig sites of Ireland, to a cancer ward in Manhattan.

Stanton weaves together an intimate, anecdotal feast of a life lived with intention and love. This is a story of intergenerational connection, the great Jewish migration to America, and one family's assimilation from the tenements of the Lower East Side to the suburbs of Long Island. Ultimately, it is a testament to the enduring moral imperative to "heal the world," and the deep wisdom found when one looks back on a life well-loved—and, not least, one’s life feast, served with bread.

Part memoir, part love letter to family and culture, this is a story of connection across generations—and the healing power of remembering who we are. Green offers a powerful reflection on what it means to "become American"—and what we risk forgetting if we don't tell our stories.