HI I'M KATHRYN

During my four decades in the food industry, as a chef, restaurant owner, food company founder and cookbook author, I watched childhood obesity rates soar in the West. As I was thinking about this alarming development, a complex relationship with a female colleague had caused me to question the dynamics of feminine power. On the surface, these two threads seemed disparate, but they were on a collision course to profoundly shape the story you're about to read.

As I dug into the literature on the pediatric health crisis, I started to see a pattern in our culture that systemically undervalued the Domain of Care, a physical and metaphorical space we think of as home, and critical to Human Flourishing. Both the soft skills, and the practical knowledge required to care for other humans have largely been relegated to the lowest rungs of our societal hierarchies. Why?

When I journeyed deeper into our historical record, a compelling story began to unfold that not only shed light on our present predicament, but also hinted at paths towards possible solutions.

The story you're about to read ignited the Hearth Hypothesis and fuels our work at Hearth Matters. I believe this is a story that carries the potential to reshape our perspectives on human flourishing. It's a story that revolves around a traditional heart of the home... the hearth.

Kathryn Lukas-Damer