The pandemic killed my career as a restaurant critic but helped save my health

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Instead, I continue to define and develop new opportunities. One of them is with my sister, Betsy. Since she was working as a morning radio host for the Martha Stewarts Sirius satellite radio show, we wanted to do something about food together. But how, when she lived in Ohio and I in Florida?

After some thought, we launched our weekly garden-to-table newsletter, Dishtillery, at the end of June 2020. We include culinary memoirs and poetry; recipes that we develop or learn from our mother, a wonderful self-taught cook; gardening advice, which we can do all year round since we are planting in almost opposite areas; and interviews with food and beverage manufacturers and artisans who are women, marginalized and / or under-represented in their fields.

Bringing together Dishtillery has not only brought us closer in spirit when we can’t be physically close to each other, but it has also led to freelance jobs, both solo and as a first paid co-byline. It also allowed us to master new programs and applications.

So while I still mourn the identity of my critics, the pain of losing them fades with the pandemic. In its place, other pieces of me come together. Since becoming a critic, I have also been a poet, essayist, educator, and editor of a literary magazine, as well as a mother, sister and daughter. For the sake of my health, the change has been crucial. Embracing it and understanding that identity is more than my career is what makes me whole.

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