THE BRAIDED PRESCRIPTION BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION GUIDE

One of the great privileges of my work is being with others — in kitchens, in living rooms, synagogues, churches, schools, and retreat centers — and watching the conversation unfold. This book was never meant to be read in isolation. It was meant to be shared.

You don’t need to answer every question. Let the conversation braid itself.

1. What drew you most into this book — the personal stories, the medical lens, or the ritual practices? Something else? Why do you think that is?

2. The book suggests that small, repeated actions can steady us in uncertain times. Where do you feel most unsteady right now — and what kind of ritual might gently support you?

3. How did approaching ritual through the lens of a physician change (or challenge) your understanding of health and well-being?

4. Which of the seven practices feels most accessible to you in this season of life? Which feels most difficult?

5. Challah is made the same way each week — and yet never exactly the same. What does repetition mean to you: comfort, constraint, resistance, freedom, something else?

6. Where have you experienced a sense of belonging through shared practice — religious or otherwise?

7. This book bridges sacred and secular spaces. What conversations do you think it opens across difference?

8. Many of these practices are tactile — mixing, kneading, gathering, blessing. How does engaging your hands affect your inner life?

9. If you were to adopt just one small practice this week, what would it be — and what might shift because of it?

10. After finishing this book, what feels braided together differently for you — body and spirit, stress and steadiness, self and community?