In 1951 a young Japanese woman came to the United States to further international peace and understanding. Though she was an accomplished gymnast and skilled artist, she had never cooked before. But out of love for her husband, macrobiotic educator Michio Kushi, and later her family, Aveline Kushi learned to apply principles of balance and intuition to daily food preparation. In the 1960s, Erewhon, America's pioneer natural foods distributor, started in her kitchen. Today she trains thousands of cooks each year through the many East West centers and Kushi Institutes she and her husband have established throughout the world.