Bread Therapy is a bread-baking book written by a trained therapist, and it shows. The text is a running narrative about the benefits and virtues of bread-baking for our bodies, souls, families, and communities structured around seven chapters interspersed with a handful of recipes and some valuable information about ingredients and technique.

Beaumont writes that there is no escaping from stress for any of us—it is inherent to being human—but that there are ways we can grow our resiliency and cope better with inevitable challenges. Mindfulness, which she defines as “paying more attention to the present, to the moment we are in now,” can help us connect with our bodies and physical nature and senses, which takes the attention away from the chaos and anxiety of “our rushing thoughts.”

The message, boiled down to its essence, is this: Bake bread, it will make you feel better. And that, especially these days, is something we can all embrace.