Facing burnout, she chased her dream of making pie - and built an empire: ‘Pie brings us together’

Thanksgiving may be a holiday steeped in myth and controversy – but there’s still something Americans largely agree on: there’s nothing wrong with the holiday’s traditional dessert. So says Beth Howard, expert pie maker, cookbook author, memoirist, and now documentary film-maker.

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“No matter what, pie brings us together. Pie is love,” says Howard, who never tires of talking about anything with a flaky crust and filling. She’s spent the last few months at community screenings – over 100 and counting – of her new documentary – Pieowa – that’s Pie + Iowa (her home state). The film chronicles the history of pie and how it brings people together. It’s full of church ladies, blue ribbon winners, home bakers, expert pie makers and cyclists, which is where Iowa comes in.

The state has a special relationship with pie, fueled by farm culture’s tendency to create simple, hearty desserts from what’s available, small-town diner fare, and, more recently, a tradition at RAGBRAI, the annual 500-mile week-long bike ride across Iowa that draws some 30,000 participants from all over the world. Pie is the official treat at route stops – with slices served up by locals. One cycle team, comprised of National Public Radio employees and friends, is so enthusiastic they are known as team NPR: No Pie Refused.

Howard’s own backstory is replete with pie.

In 2001, she