Nosh: What My Sabbatical Taught Me About Connection, One Lunch at a Time

NOSH: What My Sabbatical Taught Me About Connection, One Lunch at a Time is a humorous and heartwarming memoir about what happens when we slow down, reach out, and truly listen.When Heather L. Cleary stepped away from her corporate role at Starbucks® Coffee Company for a year-long “Coffee Break” sabbatical, she knew trading an office buzzing with 5,000 people for quiet days with only her cats might get lonely. Determined to stay connected, she set herself a challenge: share a meal with a different person every week.What began as a simple plan to ward off isolation quickly became something deeper. Over fifty-two lunches, Heather discovered that every person across the table carried their own extraordinary stories, histories, and dreams, and that connection doesn’t need scripts or grand gestures, just a table, a meal, and a willingness to listen.With warmth, wit, and insight, NOSH is a celebration of human connection, the kind that reminds us we’re never truly alone. It invites readers to look at the remarkable people in their own lives, cherish the precious time they share, and rediscover how taking time to connect can bridge divides, spark joy, and weave the bonds that hold us all together.