New York: William Morrow, 2021. 274 pp.

Here’s how you know your kid loves you: Tabitha Brown gives a lecture at her college, she goes and not only gets a signed copy of Tabitha Brown’s new book, Feeding the Soul (because it’s my business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom, she gets a (weird, socially-distanced) selfie with her, and tells you that Tabitha Brown said to say “hi.” To YOU! By which I mean, to ME!! Thus, I officially now have one degree of separation from Tabitha Brown, so my work is done here.

If you aren’t familiar with Tabitha Brown, well, to know (of) her is to love her. Her vegan cooking videos burst onto the seen several years ago, and have been entertaining vegans and non-vegans alike ever since. Her personality and joie-de-vivre are totally engaging. I believe her visibility as a vegan has done more than anything else in recent memory to change our image from kale-obsessed scolds to actually normal people who just don’t like to bother animals when choosing our food.

So imagine my excitement when she came out with her book. It’s not a cookbook, mind you, more of an inspirational talk done in her inimitable tone. It describes her journey as a young woman trying to follow her dreams to be a performer and find her authentic self, holding fast during some challenging times, until finally achieving her current success. It is funny and thoughtful; reading it is like receiving the wisdom and encouragement of a good friend. I suggest you read a bit of each morning to get your day started in a positive direction.

I was hoping she would discuss her journey to veganism more than she did; I suspect there was focus on achieving a wider audience. She does mention that she made the switch when she was having some health problems, and that she was able to resolve them through her diet, but we don’t learn too much more than that.

She does include a few “recipes” though. I put that in quotes, because (unlike me) Ms. Brown is not a cook-by-the-book kind of gal. She does it by feel, so what she offers is more like inspiration and guidelines and leaves the rest to you. One of the recipes I made is a variation on basic chickpea salad, the Vegan Tuna Salad (Un-Tuna) Wrap, which of course is a tasty mainstay. I also made the Vegan Tuna Melt, and oh man, did that take me back. I haven’t had one of those in half a lifetime at least, but this was just like what I remembered. (The picture just looks like melted vegan cheese – really gonna try to step up the photo game – but so it goes.)

The recipe relies on hearts of palm, which is also breaded and fried to make her take on Vegan Fish Sticks. (I am actually afraid of deep fryers, so I couldn’t try that one.) Finally, I made the Vegan Carne Asada Tacos with mango salsa. I had never cooked with jackfruit before, and if you haven’t, I recommend it. It looks like and has a texture not unlike shredded chicken. And like tofu, you can season it to suit your needs.

To get a better sense of Tabitha Brown’s cooking, you really have to watch her videos. The first one I ever saw was this one, featuring carrot bacon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaeUQ2tWaV4 I don’t have an air fryer, so I tried this in a conventional oven. I had to leave them in there a lot longer than she did, but, while they weren’t pretty, they came out crunchy and tasty and were gone with in a few minutes. My other fave is her vegan deviled eggs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cJcdIhmU4I These are a dang revelation. (They literally are. As you will see, they came to her in a dream). She uses mushrooms marinated in pickle juice as the stand-in for hard-boiled eggs. Do NOT judge before you try. Amazing.

Just like Tabitha Brown herself, her food is a reminder that living and eating well does not have to be rigid, fussy, and complicated. Approach it with a little humor, a dash of courage, and a big heart and you’ve got it. Because that’s your business.

Note: I did not receive any form of compensation in exchange for this review.