Kintsugi Wellness: The Japanese Art of Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit

Candice Kumai is an eloquent writer, gifted chef and communicator. This book has beautiful visuals and is conceptually stunning as it represent the complexities of Asian and Japanese American identities. For the wellness space, it has been revered as an authentic text (not only rooted in Japanese culture), but sincere and honest in a way that many other 'how-to-cook' books leave out--a personal and deep story that Kumai provides. Kintsugi Wellness is truly nourishing, empowering, and is a joy for readers interested in the self development/personal development space. Kumai is a great storyteller, as the book stands on its own as one of the the first-of-its kind category. Its cultural importance is it is pioneering the way that Asian American books in the food industry are written, setting a tone for making cultural history central to understanding the food we cook, bake, and consume. Her text on cultural understanding emphasizes context missing in many texts today, showing that they are more than 'nice to know' information, the history shows how the food is rooted and comes from somewhere, it is not merely in supporting a recipe, is more than 'supplementary' material, but rather central to understanding its appreciation for what would be seen as 'simple recipes.' It is through her sharing and connecting personal cultural history, Japanese cultural concepts, and wellness that make the book unique. The book proposes significant culturally relevant paradigms the intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Kintsugi Wellness inspires its readers to examine their identities from the level of wholistic being and creative nature in mind, body, heart, and soul. Kintsugi Wellness has a very clear structure that proves to be an effective storytelling method. In the beginning of each chapter and section, Kumai discusses key Japanese cultural themes weaving in vignettes of her personal story as a Asian American daughter of a Japanese immigrant mother and Polish veteran along with recipes that show demonstrate her professional work (years of dedication as a top culinary expert and chef). Kumai is one of the realest, most honest, and authentic voices of our generation. A seasoned chef, fitness model, writer, and advocate, Asian and Asian American women and women and allies everywhere will feel inspired and empowered reading this book (like listening to the Wabi Sabi podcast). Kumai is able to communicate her personal story that show layers of complexity in Asian American identity. She connects traditional Japanese culture and cuisine to the United States acting as a bridge throughout various pieces of her career she shares in this intimate written piece of work. She is a refreshing voice for what felt like an utterly empty/missing piece in Asian American gap of literature and has enriched the entire space with her presence in it with thoughtful flair and taste. She will continue to inspire the next generation of culinary leaders, wellness professionals, writers, and Asian and Asian American women, and women and allies who embrace their realness in being "perfectly imperfect." I highly recommend this book, the Wabi Sabi Podcast and the great portfolio of video material by Kumai.

Kumai is known for creating inspiring, mindful food content. I first learned of her work through the book Pretty Delicious, which focused on FWB's: Food With Benefits. The object was not deprivation, but modification. Make sure to focus on the healthier parts of food (the greens, mostly), then allow space for living and enjoyment! The other cookbooks focused, again, on well-thy foods to encourage feeling good and looking good (Cook Yourself Sexy, Clean Green Drinks, Clean Green Eats). This book takes a different turn, and Kumai is going to get a huge return on her investment. She took a series of trips to Japan to speak with family and experts on Japanese philosophy. While she got to tap into her roots, and repair from her own grief and loss, we yield the benefits of her gained wisdom (all without the high ticket price and jet lag). Oh, and you still get great recipes (matcha scones are going to happen this weekend!). Kintsugi is about repair. We've all felt broken at one point or another, but I think we need to think beyond the self-care of bubble baths and face masks. Being broken isn't easy- it's tears shed, drinking too much, and losing who you are. We all have a story like Kumai's, but we have to do the hard work to fill in the cracks of our broken shell (and fill them with gold, honey!). In this book she shares her framework, but we have to be the ones to apply it, in whatever way suits you and your upbringing, spiritual beliefs, etc. Other books by Candice: Clean Green Eats: 100+ Clean-Eating Recipes to Improve Your Whole Life Clean Green Drinks: 100+ Cleansing Recipes to Renew & Restore Your Body and Mind Pretty Delicious: Lean and Lovely Recipes for a Healthy, Happy New You (the BEST spinach artichoke dip recipe is in this book!) Cook Yourself Sexy: Easy Delicious Recipes for the Hottest, Most Confident You

Fabulous work of art - I've been a fan of Candice Kumai for 20 years since Top Chef. Her books deeply resonate with somebody who is fun, funny, charming, witty, and also really wants to learn about their culture. Thank you Candice for taking time on your beautiful works of art. I highly recommend this. Candice gives a true sense of real healing, culture, and heritage, and don't forget she is truly of Japanese descent and we need to support more authors who come from the place of origin they are writing about. Many people cherry pick parts of a culture that they love and they truly have never lived a mile in a Japanese person shoes and this is something to think about. Thank you Miss Kumai. Check out her documentary "Kintsugi" for free on YouTube.

Honest and well-written, I devoured this book - my first foray into Candice Kumai books and also ordered her Pretty Delicious. Love her style, story, and thoughts behind life, love, and eating. :)

It’s hard to categorise this book; neither self-help nor culinary, but a book that’s contributes to its own special sector. This is more than just a written piece of prose or words written to guide one’s own virtuous lifestyle; what Candice has created within 336 pages is an anthem of following your own intuition, building your own foundations through wisdom and food. I’m not new to Kumai’s works, but Kintsugi is without a doubt, both thought provoking and delectable. Kintsugi at first glance appears to be just a book, with gold embellishments dispersed throughout the front cover, but believe me when I say, this is a staple for every household; who wishes to learn, to love and give themselves whole-heartedly to not just someone, but life. Of course, books are just that, but some and unfortunately few stand with honour and grace. I feel, if you were to completely strip this book to its gold lacquered core; you’ll find a legacy. Candice has provided the reader an insight into her own and family’s journey through life; and ultimately the trials that can come with humanity i.e. war, loss, fragmentation etc, but with reliance and strength you can eradicate and learn from generational mistakes. If you too, want to become a person and devout yourself to just being the real you; read and savour every lingering word. Additionally, the food stems from what this book is about; health and healing oneself from the inside out; not just aesthetically, but through spirit. This can be seen through the earthy and sweetness offered in the Matcha chocolate chip cookies to the umami flavours from the miso-roasted sweet potatoes. The recipes are simplistic, but packed with taste. When you finish and find yourself thirsty for more realness and encouragement, follow her podcast called ‘Wabi-Sabi: The perfectly imperfect’ where this is just a continuation of the rawness offered in ‘Kintsugi’

Empezando a leerlo, Pero esta muy fácil de Leer y entender con excelente ilustración

What an amazing book! I had never heard of the art of Kintsugi before nor did I have any idea that it could be so spiritually healing. Candice Kumai is an incredible writer, weaving stories of her childhood and heritage with the concept of wellness, good food and travel. I was so inspired by Candice that I actually got in touch with her online and she was kind enough to reply to me. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to take care of their mental health right now, so they know that no matter how many times you’ve been broken, you can always build yourself up again.

Conocí a Candice Kumai escuchando una entrevista suya en un podcast; hablaba sobre su nuevo libro: Kintsugi wellness. Su claridad y determinación al hablar me dejaron totalmente inspirada, y así ha sucedido cada vez que descubro algo nuevo de ella: su propio podcast que es capaz de iluminar los martes más oscuros, sus exquisitas recetas, su cuidado instagram...no tiene desperdicio. Kintsugi es el arte japonés de reparar los objetos rotos, usando oro para rellenar las grietas. La belleza de éste antiguo arte es que los objetos después del arreglo parecen todavía más bellos. Candice hace una metáfora increíble relacionando el kintsugi con la experiencia humana: los momentos difíciles de la vida nos van convirtiendo en mejores personas. Para guiarnos por éste camino, Kumai nos desvela varios preceptos de la cultura japonesa que nos ayudan a vivir la mejor versión de nosotros mismos; abriéndose a la vulnerabilidad de contarnos su historia personal, y dedicando un gran apartado a recetas únicas, un remix california-japón (sus raíces son japoamericanas), y la guinda del pastel: un diseño de libro increíble, fotos preciosas, cuidado hasta el más mínimo detalle...Así es todo lo que hace Candice Kumai: oro puro. La única pega es: ¿¿Pero porqué nadie ha editado éste libro en español?? Ya ha sido traducido a varios idiomas y aquí necesitamos una editorial que traiga joyas como ésta!! /////// I met Candice Kumai listening to her interview on a podcast; she was talking about her new book: Kintsugi wellness. Her clarity and determination left me totally inspired, and so has happened every time I discover something new about her: her own podcast (that is capable of illuminating the darkest tuesdays), her exquisite recipes, her beautiful instagram ... she's no to be missed. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken objects, using gold to fill in cracks. The beauty of this ancient art is that the objects after the arrangement look even more beautiful. Candice makes an incredible metaphor relating the kintsugi to the human experience: the difficult moments of life make us better people. To guide us along this path, Kumai reveals to us several precepts of Japanese culture that help us to live the best version of ourselves; opening up to the vulnerability of telling us her personal story, and dedicating a great section to unique recipes, a california-japan remix (her roots are Japanese-american), and the cherry on top: an incredible book design, beautiful photos, curated to the most minimal detail ... That's all Candice Kumai does: pure gold. The only downside is: But why has anyone published this book in Spanish? It has already been translated into several languages ​​and here we need an editorial that brings jewels like this one!

ニューヨーク在住食文化研究者Candice Kumaiさんの豪華本。 写真も豊富。