Beth Ricanati is the author of the new book The Braided Prescription: Seven Practices for Living Well from the Ancient Ritual of Making Challah. She also has written the book Braided. She is a physician, and she lives in Southern California.
Q: The Braided Prescription is your second book focusing on challah--why did you decide to write this new book, and what do you see as the relationship between the two books?
A: I actually think of them as companion books: Braided is the story. The Braided Prescription is what I learned afterward. I did not set out to write a second book. However, after years of workshops and thousands of conversations, I realized I'd been watching the same seven practices emerge again and again. This book is my attempt to distill what those experiences taught me.
Q: The psychology professor Laurie Santos said of the book, “It’s the perfect invitation to slow down and connect deeply, practices that research shows can foster more flourishing in daily life.” What do you think of that description?
A: Stress management doesn’t just mean relaxing; it also means connecting – to yourself and to others. So yes, I think that her description is apt.
Q: How do you see your medical practice and your writing coexisting?
A: I used to just practice in a clinic; now I also practice in a kitchen. I see these two facets of my life intimately intertwined. This new book is a way to for me to have my professional beliefs stand side by side the work that I do outside of the clinic.
Specifically, I know that stress affects health. I see it – and have seen it for 30 years in medicine – in all of my workshops and my clinic. Sharing what I’ve learned helps therefore both my workshop participants and my patients. I have seen that lifestyle medicine works. This deserves more attention and I can do that through my writing.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: We are living in during a very stressful time for so many people, myself included.
As I wrote this book, I found such solace in being able to bridge the divide between what I know to be true professionally and what I found to be true making challah, first by myself and then in conducting the workshops. The workshops were essentially a laboratory in hindsight, a space to learn from the participants.
I hope that readers of The Braided Prescription embrace the practices and find a similar impact in their own lives.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: You know, it's funny. People ask me all the time, "So what's next?" And I always find myself wanting to answer the question a little differently. I actually think this book is just the beginning.
My first book was called Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs, and I think that title says more about me than I even realized at the time. I've never been someone who's fixated on the destination. I've always been fascinated by the journey—by where it takes us, who we meet along the way, and how one chapter of life prepares us for the next.
When I look back, medicine led me to the workshops. The workshops led me to this book. And now this book is leading me into conversations and communities I never could have imagined.
So I'm less focused on asking, "What's the next project?" and more interested in asking, "Where is this journey taking me next?" I've learned over the years that I don't need to know the destination to know I'm on the right path.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: What began with making challah has grown into something much larger. I've come to appreciate the ways small rituals and everyday practices can help us reconnect—to ourselves, to one another, and to what matters most in a stressful and distracted world.
Over the years, I've seen those ideas resonate in synagogues, churches, universities, museums, wellness organizations, and around countless kitchen tables. The book is one part of that larger conversation—an ongoing exploration of how one ancient ritual can illuminate a more connected, healthier way of living.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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