About the Author
Meet Robert Garofalo
My understanding of health started long before I ever put on a chef's coat.
Growing up in New York, I watched my father question things most families never thought twice about. He was serious about nutrition — no excess sugar, vitamins every morning, and a habit of asking what was actually in our food. When I was about ten, my mother wrote to several cereal companies asking why they used BHT and BHA. She wasn't satisfied with the answers. Neither was my dad. I didn't understand the chemistry then, but I understood the lesson: don't assume something is good for you just because it's on a shelf. Ask questions. Stay curious.
Years later, my wife Terri taught me to cook, and something clicked. I studied at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, the International Pastry Arts Center under Chef Albert Kumin, and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. My career led me into healthcare food service, where I came to understand that food isn't just fuel. It can also be comfort, dignity, and part of healing.
Over the years, nutrition became only part of the picture. Yoga, meditation, breathwork, movement, sleep, and even the things we watch, read, listen to, and tell ourselves all affect how we feel. I eventually became certified as a Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Today I work as a custodian in a New Hampshire school. Being around children every day has given me an unexpected front-row seat to what they eat and drink, but also to the noise, pressure, and constant stream of messages surrounding them.
That's where The Inner Garden came from. I began picturing the human body not as a machine to maintain, but as something alive that deserves to be understood and cared for. Organs became gardens. Body systems became rivers, forests, and flourishing landscapes. And the child at the center became the Head Gardener.
The whole series is built on a simple belief: children are more likely to care for themselves once they discover there's something remarkable inside them worth caring for. This isn't about fear, guilt, or perfection. It's an invitation into wonder — and a reminder that every moment offers another chance to tend the garden.
Every child is carrying a garden. And every child gets to be its gardener.
