Every time you take a step and walk with your fear, you'll never know the impact. But you can be certain somebody's watching, and that courage is contagious.

That's what happened when my own life crumbled. The people who came into my life bolstered me to take more risks, to be even more true to myself.

I had no identity [when I was 27] - I was terrified that somebody would ask me what I was doing, and I would have no answer.

Engagement is the good life. What could be more exciting than getting involved in something that you care about and joining with others and seeing something change? What could be more thrilling?

Old models of farming with chemicals and credit mostly favored privileged men.

Making conscious choices about what we eat, based on what the earth can sustain and what our bodies need, can help remind us that our whole society must begin to balance sustainable production with human need.

What we do in the book my daughter Anna and I wrote, Hope's Edge, is to give people a glimpse of food as a source of nourishment, health, and community, rather than a threat. That means reconnecting with food as it comes from the Earth and with those who produce food.