Ask the Author: Lisa Haushofer
Answered Questions (2)
Lisa Haushofer
I read! I am an ardent reader, across many different genres, fiction and nonfiction, often reading several books in parallel. I particularly enjoy historical fiction, fantasy, and inspirational fiction, as well as nonfiction books on the histories of science, medicine, and food. Reading is my main source of inspiration for writing - I get excited about beautiful prose, a well-crafted narrative arc, interesting characters, and creative structures. Especially authors who take risks, who are not afraid to try something new or defy expectations, embolden me to be playful and creative in my own writing.
I also read a lot about the craft of writing, and I love reading other writers' writing routines. I'm signed up to writingroutines.com which sends interviews with authors about their writing habits directly to my inbox. Finding my own writing routine has been very helpful to me in inspiring my writing. My routine is heavy on the sensory - it involves listening to music, lighting a scented candle, drinking coffee, and activating old-fashioned typewriter sounds on my keyboard... I find that these things render the writing experience pleasant and embodied, and make it easier to sit down t write again the next day.
I also read a lot about the craft of writing, and I love reading other writers' writing routines. I'm signed up to writingroutines.com which sends interviews with authors about their writing habits directly to my inbox. Finding my own writing routine has been very helpful to me in inspiring my writing. My routine is heavy on the sensory - it involves listening to music, lighting a scented candle, drinking coffee, and activating old-fashioned typewriter sounds on my keyboard... I find that these things render the writing experience pleasant and embodied, and make it easier to sit down t write again the next day.
Lisa Haushofer
It was a mix of curiosity and serendipity: As a historian and a physician, I have long been interested in the history of cure and cures. I had been working on the history of surgical treatments and organotherapy when I came across a set of archival documents about Benger's Food, a 19th-century food that supposedly contained digestive enzymes and was therefore marketed as an aid to digestion. This seemed so unusual to me, and so similar to some of our contemporary supplements and health food products. My interest was piqued, and I investigated. Slowly, I came to discover that Benger's Food was just the tip of the iceberg, and that there was a veritable sea of so-called "artificially digested" products in circulation at the time (the remains of which have left a trace even today - think of products like Pepsi-Cola, which once contained the digestive enzyme pepsin!). What was more, such artificially digested foods were only one example of a series of 'wonder foods' - foods that claimed to do a lot more than simply nourish, that lured consumers with promises of optimization, productivity, longevity, and health. I wanted to understand this phenomenon of 'wonder foods,' and it led me on a fascinating journey of discovery, one that made me realize that the origins of our obsession with optimization through food lie not merely in our recent past. Instead, their roots must be sought in a much deeper history, one in which the pursuit of nutrition became inextricably linked to the expansion of empires, the unfolding of capitalist logics, and the growing grasp of white supremacy.
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