September 2024 Cookbook Reviews

 

Homemade-ish by Lauren McDuffie

I'm a big proponent of making things from scratch - it's often not as time consuming as you think and usually tastes better and is cheaper. That said, sometimes you don't have the time to make something from scratch but still want to eat well. So, I thought this cookbook might have some good recipes to check out. I liked that in the introduction she talks about her food philosophy being in "the middle" between everything from scratch and just buying takeout to eat. I also liked that she made sure all the recipes are made with ingredients that aren't hard to source and without lots of fancy kitchen appliances. But, I personally wasn't impressed with the recipes. There really wasn't much that looked good or that I wanted to try. I do agree with her food philosophy and I wish there were a few recipes I wanted to try. I wouldn't recommend this one.

The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple by Jenny Rosenstrach

I always liked Jenny Rosenstrach's blog, Dinner, a Love Story and have read two of her other cookbooks. I didn't realize that she had decided to be a "weekday vegetarian" but decided to still check out this cookbook. I'm definitely NOT a vegetarian but I do love vegetables and finding more vegetable forward meals isn't a bad thing. There were a few recipes I want to try but overall I felt like the majority of the recipes in here weren't enough food or protein to be the main course.

September 2024 Reviews

 

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (Books & Banter book club)

Tan Yunxian was born into an elite family of scholars. Her paternal grandparents are both doctors which was rare in that they worked together and that her grandmother was also a doctor from a family of generations of doctors. When Yunxian's mother dies when she is eight-years-old she goes to live with her grandparents because of her father's work travel. Her grandmother recognizes her sharp mind and starts to train her as a doctor. But when she is married off at fifteen, her mother-in-law forbids her to continue her training and also forbids her friendship with Meiling, the daughter of a local midwife. Yunxian's transition into her husband's family home is turbulent, yet Yunxian perseveres and is eventually able to resume her medical studies and even practice on the women in her husband's extended family. Based on a real female doctor in China during the 15th and 16th centuries, Lady Tan's Circle of Women imagines this trailblazer's story.

This is the fourth Lisa See book that I've read and I did not like it at all. If not for my book club reading it I would have quit. The writing was good and she obviously did a TON of research and while Tan Yunxian's story is amazing, the book was so overly detailed and there were SO MANY tangential characters that it bogged the whole book down. There was violence in all the books by See that I've read, but there was just SO MUCH graphic medical stuff in this book that I could have done without - the eunuchs and tapeworm especially. But there was also a LOT of detail about clothing, ceremonies, medical remedies, etc. I also hate in historical fiction books when so much of the storyline is about the petty dramas and backbiting of women - not to say it wasn't true but does it have to be so much of the focus. Especially when the title suggests that Yunxian will have a "circle of women" around her helping/supporting her. Also, for some reason in this book the focus on footbinding just made me angry. It was patriarchal torture that was framed as bettering the woman and a physical manifestation of class. And in this book she talked about another sexual component of it that was even more disgusting. I was hoping that the "woman doctor" would see how destructive the footbinding culture was and try to end it but that wasn't the case. It was also odd how often Yunxian referred to people with "big feet." This whole book's focus on footbinding just made me angry. Overall, I did like the character of Yunxian (less so when she insisted on purchasing concubines for her husband) but did not care for this book. I'll be curious to see what my book club members think of this one.

A Call to Farms by Jennifer Grayson

The average age of a farmer in the US is 58 and rising. While the cost of farmland (and housing in general) has skyrocketed. This situation makes it hard for older farmers to get out and young people interested in farming to get in. In A Call to Farms Jennifer Grayson looks at several different small farms that are finding ways to grow food and create business ventures for young farmers. While she doesn't directly address the issue of how current farmers could partner with young, hopeful farmers to preserve farm land, this book explores several very unique farms that show what you can do on a smaller property and/or with a unique business idea. She tends to throw in personal opinions quite a bit but it's not so much that it gets in the way of the farm stories. A few times she's a little disparaging to farmers who either "ghosted" her or canceled at the last minute. But it's not clear did they have a genuine emergency or were too busy to fit in an interview or if she jumped the gun by flying across the country too quickly. Other than that she does showcase some unique situations and I like her overall message that many smaller farms could definitely replace our current monoculture "go big or go home" agriculture. She also does a good job of highlighting more diverse farmers - women, people of color, and even an indigenous tribe working to grow food for their tribal community. These people are often left out of the current monoculture/big ag as well. Overall I liked it and I really liked the focus on smaller, regenerative farming as being the solution to our food systems failures.

Some quotes I liked:

"What we have right now is a precious spark of enthusiasm for reclaiming gardening wisdom. The National Gardening Association reported that more than 18.3 million Americans started gardening in 2021 alone. 'There's a huge resurgence of people who are really excited to provide for their needs and to feel empowered,' Natalie [Bogwalker of Wild Abundance] said. 'People are starving for it, and for good reason. I think COVID really allowed for that to blossom.' In other words, the pandemic was a collective initiatory experience - one that prompted so many of us to consider alternative paths for our very precious lives." (p. 53)

"What's also seldom noted is what really led to the rationing and food shortages that prompted the US government to propagandize World War II's Victory Gardens: the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, who until that moment constituted two-thirds of the West Coast's farmers (growing 40 percent of California's vegetables alone). This chapter in our nation's history was shameful even before the evidence emerged that internment was orchestrated by the US government as an agricultural land grab for corporate agribusiness. Victory Gardens were the decoy." (footnote on p. 54)

"But there was a more insidious reason it was easy to find farmland to rent in Connecticut, a state with some of the highest property taxes in the country. '[Property owners] want a tax break,' said Jonathan [Kirschner of Ambler Farm], glossing over a fact understood by every farmer and wealthy investor but unperceived by a general public that has romanticized the profession of farming: Farmland owners are privy not only to numerous tax exemptions and deductions but also a sizeable property tax discount in most states. In Connecticut, $15,000 in farm sales or expenses wins you a property tax abatement of up to 50 percent. Not surprisingly, Jonathan had recently been approached by folks in town who wanted their land farmed, with no lease payment necessary." (p. 73)

"If you, too, are an introvert, I think it's important to know: Yes, humans evolved for social connectivity; yes, many ancestral societies farmed communally, and that model has tremendous potential in the modern agricultural world. But if you're drawn to the happy hermit path of regenerative farming, Alex and Yoko [of Assawaga Farm] are a great example of how to be successful." (footnote on p. 103)

[On intentional farming communities that sound amazing but are VERY pricey] "Serenbe (i.e., the Nygren family) owns the land. The farm manager may be well compensated, but it's a hired position, one that changed hands several times even before I arrived. The farm's interns receive a $1,000 monthly stipend and free housing, but I'm guessing when their internship is over they won't stay in a community where a one-bedroom condo lists for $500,000 and most houses are over $1 million. Even Serenbe's farm animals, I realized, are superficial, reserved for a petting zoo while the farm grows only vegetables. This despite the fact that livestock integration would not only build soil but also a more diversified local diet for residents who, when I was there, shopped for meat, dairy, and staples at chain supermarkets in the outside suburbs...But as with Serenbe, the Kiawah River agrihood - replete with twenty miles of waterfront, an on-site Auberge hotel, and $1 million to $6 million homes - is likely not within the reach of most farmers." (p. 166-67)

While You Were Out: an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence by Meg Kissinger

Meg Kissinger is the 4th of 8 children growing up outside Chicago, IL during the 1960s. While her family looked like the ideal family from the outside - living in a huge house, members of a country club, vacations, etc. on the inside they were struggling. Meg's mother suffered from severe depression and anxiety and her father had wild mood swings and would later be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. As her older siblings headed toward adulthood they also started exhibiting signs of mental illness. She would lose two siblings to suicide in a time when these kind of things weren't talked about and were a source of shame for the family. Each family member dealt with things in their own way and they NEVER talked about it all together. Meg's way of dealing was to become an investigative reporter who researched and wrote a lot about mental illness, including a few personal stories as well. Only later, after both of their parents had died, did Meg finally start seeing a therapist to deal with all the family trauma. Once she did she knew she had to write a much more personal story - this book.

This book reminded me a lot of Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker. Both were large, Catholic families in a time when mental illness or any weakness was NOT discussed publicly. In both cases the parents were also mentally ill as well although again not fully known the extent by the children until after the parents were gone. I did think the siblings in Meg's family had better relationships. Maybe because it was 5 girls and 3 boys instead of 8 boys and 2 girls. There was chaos in Meg's home growing up but not the level of violence as in the Hidden Valley Road home. It was just the perfect storm of the time period, the Catholic, huge families, and mental illness in both cases. Meg does an incredible job of telling her family's story and including all her remaining siblings' versions as well. This is a heart-breaking story of how mental illness impacted the Kissinger family.

Some quotes I liked:

[When Jake visited his college counseling center because he was depressed and struggling] "Jake told the man how lonely he felt and how sluggish he'd become, how he'd toss and turn all night long. He was scared and frustrated as he began to fail one class after another. The counselor's solution? Join a fraternity. Get drunk. Have more fun. Jake didn't know how to have fun, and nothing he was trying was working." (p. 83)

[After their sister Nancy committed suicide they were worried the Catholic church wouldn't perform her funeral since she committed suicide. They did, then this happened.] "Just as the gathering was about to end, a busload of nuns from our high school showed up to say the rosary. One old nun, who taught us math, pulled Mary Kay aside, pointed at Nancy's casket, and whispered, She's going to hell you know." (p. 113)

[When Meg wrote a story for her newspaper about Nancy's suicide and the impact on her.] "I was terrified to go into the newsroom the day after the story ran, afraid everyone would be staring at me. Her sister jumped in front of a train! The elevator doors opened, and I slinked to my desk, trying to avoid eye contact. That was some story, said the medical reporter whose desk was next to mine. Good for you. Colleagues I had never really talked to before stopped by my desk to hug me and to thank me for sharing my story. A quiet man on the copy desk told me his son died like that, too." (p. 156)

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Evening Edition - but read early)

Tova Sullivan started working the night shift at the aquarium after her husband died. Keeping busy always helped her cope and she's had more than her share of bad things to cope with including losing her 18-year-old son Erik, her husband's recent death, and estrangement from her brother. But at the aquarium she can be alone and clean and not think about her son and husband. She develops a relationship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus after he escapes his tank and she helps untangle him from cords and get back to his tank. Marcellus is a Remarkably Bright Creature and can read the humans around him very well. He recognizes Tova's sadness and eventually helps her uncover the secrets around her son's death.

This storyline seems pretty implausible and it definitely is. I loved Marcellus's character - he definitely gave off Sad Cat Diary vibes in his "updates." Octopuses ARE Remarkably Bright Creatures but could one figure out the stuff Marcellus figures out about the humans around him? Doubtful. I did love his ending which I did not see coming. All the main characters are a little Island of Misfit Toys-esque and some like Tova and Ethan are very likable. But Cameron was pretty insufferable. I kept forgetting that he was a 30-year-old man and not an angsty teenager. A review I read said that the plot was pretty predictable but it took way too long to get there and I definitely agree. I also felt like the overall tone of the book was sad and depressing until close to the very end. I didn't hate it but I definitely didn't love it.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Books & Banter book club)

Alice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole into Wonderland where nothing is as it appears. Alice grows and shrinks by eating or drinking concoctions or sides of a mushroom. She gets advice from a 3-inch-tall smoking caterpillar and a disappearing Cheshire cat. She almost drowns in her own tears and tries to play croquet with flamingos for mallets and hedgehogs for balls with the King and Queen of Hearts. She attends a never ending tea party with a Mad Hatter, March Hare, and sleeping dormouse. All the while wondering how she'll ever get back home. And she does get back home when she wakes up and realizes Wonderland was all a curious dream.

I haven't read this since I was an older child/young teenager. For whatever reason I just LOVED this book and the follow up Through the Looking Glass. While it didn't have quite the same appeal as an adult, the story is definitely unique, creative, and entertaining. It's also much shorter than I remembered. I basically read it in a two sittings. I think for the time period this was written (1865) it was probably pretty ground breaking and it's still entertaining kids and adults today.

Favorite Cheshire Cat quotes:

"'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where-' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. '-so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation. 'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'" (p. 49)

"'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 'Oh, you ca'n't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' 'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice. 'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'" (p. 49)

August 2024 Reviews

 

Killers Amidst Killers by Billy Jensen

In Killers Amidst Killers Billy Jensen explores the cases of dozens of missing and murdered women in Ohio. In all the cases he looks at the women were dealing with drug addiction and often prostituting themselves for drugs and/or money for drugs. This type of person makes the perfect victim because often they are estranged from their families and if/when they are found dead the police don't investigate as hard once it's obvious they were a drug addict and/or prostitute. But these women were still people - daughters, often mothers as well, sisters, etc. who didn't deserve to be murdered. Jensen highlights both the women's struggles and the lackluster efforts of police. Can we really be sure these women were murdered though? Both hard drugs and prostitution create a wide variety of ways someone could die. Could serial killers be seeking out these kind of victims? Yes. But do we know that for sure in all the cases he highlights? No. I do think he does a good job of highlighting the very real issues of opioid addiction and unsolved cases of missing/murdered women.

Jensen also interjects his own story into the book discussing his parents addiction issues and how that seemed to be a factor in both of their early deaths. He also discusses his own issues with alcohol and in the acknowledgements at the end talks about how after this book was written he went into rehab and now has 2 years sober. Obviously, he's known for his true crime work but I think he also has a personal connection to addiction issues and that could be why he was drawn to tell these stories. Overall, I like Jensen and really enjoyed this book and his previous book Chase Darkness With Me.

Some quotes I liked:

"In fact, in St. Louis right now, Tom [Hargrove] tells me the lifetime odds of being a murder victim are 1 in 25. In Chicago, they're currently about 1 in 61. 'These would be wonderful odds if you were playing the Powerball; these are awful odds if you want to stay alive.'" (p. 36)

"If you rank your serial killers based on body counts, the collective serial killers of the pill industry blow Gacy, Dahmer, and Bundy away." (p. 123)

"At the end of 2019, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study analyzing 112 American car manufacturing counties. They search from 1999 to 2017 and charted the communities that lost at least one car manufacturing plant. Then they analyzed the rates of opioid deaths in those communities versus the areas where plants didn't close. In the five years following a plant closure, the death rate from opioids in adults in those counties rose a staggering 85 percent. People had lost their sense of where they belonged. People disconnected from each other, from meaningful work, from financial security." (p. 153)

How to Train Your Human: a Cat's Guide by Babas

This is a cute "manual" written as though from a cat on how to manage and deal with humans. It's a quick read that you could probably finish in one sitting. In between chapters are black and white paintings of cats. Any cat owner will recognize their own cat(s) in the pages depending on how well trained you are. A cute book for any cat lover.

Some quotes I liked:

"Beds - one of the most indisputable wonders so expertly created by humans for their world - deserve a separate chapter. Cushions, blankets, chairs, couches: the primate's den is a comfort paradise. The bed of all beds is the king-size bed, a large, stuffed area furnished with soft layers into which humans slide to sleep." (p. 48)

"Noteworthy makeshift beds also include stacks of clean, ironed laundry, always pleasant and fragrant, and the coats and handbags of guests, preferably those allergic to cats." (p. 51)

"There are rumors of a prime example - that of Koko, a gorilla raised in captivity to whom Francine, a human, taught sign language. Even though the two had spent time together for many years, Koko never managed to teach Francine gorilla language - which proves once again how poorly equipped these loquacious animals are to listen. But let us not digress. What we wish to bring to your attention is that when Francine, using sign language, asked Koko what her greatest wish was, she replied, 'A cat.' And there are numerous reports about the friendship that bound Koko, throughout her long life, to various cats." (p. 118-19)

Magic Pill by Johann Hari

Johann Hari always struggled with his weight. After the COVID pandemic, where he had put on even more extra weight, he was at a party and realized everyone else was VERY thin despite the stressors of the pandemic. A friend pulled him aside and clued him in that everyone else hadn't taken up a rigorous exercise routine, they were using Ozempic - the newest weight loss Magic Pill. Hari decides to look into it and ends up going to his doctor and getting a prescription. But the whole time he's conflicted about taking it. In Magic Pill he explores all aspects of this medication - the pros, cons, concerns, and unknowns. He is also using himself as somewhat of a guinea pig too. In the end, he decides that for himself he feels like the benefits outweigh the risks and decides to keep taking it. I felt like he did a great job of really exploring this medication, how our food has changed, the obesity epidemic, and more with a very open mind and really showing all sides. I was also impressed with how candid he was with his own weight and food struggles. In reading about his home life it was almost guaranteed that he would end up with an eating disorder and/or serious food issues. But I was also somewhat surprised that he made it to 44 years old without understanding that fast food and processed food is NOT as good for you as meat and vegetables and it DOES have a huge impact on your weight and health. Overall, I had no idea what to expect with this book but I really liked it. I will likely check out some of his other books as well.

Some quotes I liked:

"We built a food system that poisons us - and then, to keep us away from the avalanche of bad food, we decided to inject ourselves with a different potential poison, one that puts us off all food." (p. xiv)

"The first way that ultra-processed food undermines our satiety is strangely simple. You chew it less. It is, Tim explained, 'generally very soft...It is adult baby food.' When you eat, your body gradually registers that food is coming in and sends you the signal that you've had enough. If you have to chew your food and it takes longer to eat it, the signal to stop kicks in at the right time, when you are sated. But when you don't have to chew - when it all just slips down your gullet with disarming ease - you don't get the signal to stop until you've gone too far and gorged yourself. Chewing, Tim said, is a necessary brake on overeating, and processed food has tampered with the brakes." (p. 39-40)

"If you deliberately want to make an animal fat, you take away what its ancestors ate and give it an ultra-processed and artificially sweetened replica instead. In other words - Big Agriculture does to animals precisely what the processed food industry is going to us and our children every day." (p. 47)

"Something is wrong, he believes, 'any time a society has a problem that everyone acknowledges is heavily based on the environment, and turns increasingly to treating it in a medical way.' It leads us to neglect what is causing the problem in the first place." (p. 49)

"[Dr.] Max [Pemberton] said the effects of diabetes are so severe, even when it is treated well, that he has personally reached a conclusion that if he had a choice, he would rather be diagnosed as HIV-positive than diabetic. He knows that sounds shocking, but urged me to look at the facts. 'This is from a purely medical point of view. At the moment, people with HIV [who receive treatment] are living as long as somebody without. Someone with diabetes? You lose fifteen years of your life on average,' if you get it as a young adult. And it's not just that you die much earlier. You are far more likely to live with terrible complications, often for years." (p. 61-2)

"Most of the people I knew who were taking these new weight-loss drugs told me that their pleasure in food had plummeted, or even vanished. Food felt, to them, joyless and ulititarian - they ate just because they had to, not because they liked it. Many experts are worried about this. Jerold Mande, the Harvard nutritionist, said...'But the real human pleasure is eating, because you need to make sure you eat every day. So the body had to create a system of pleasure where you would eat every day and not get tired of it...the relationship between food and pleasure is fundamental.' Taking that away is hugely risky, he believes." (p. 137-38)

"When Ozempic pushed me toward eating in a healthier way, I experienced it not as a joyful liberation, but as a frightening and slightly shameful deprivation. I felt like I was being deprived not just of junk food, but of love. I felt, in fact, like I was being punished." (p. 146)

The Hummingbird's Gift by Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery had the opportunity to help Brenda Sherburn rehabilitate/rescue two baby hummingbirds. Montgomery flew out to Brenda's home in California where Brenda is a dedicated hummingbird rehabilitator. Rescuing baby hummingbirds is a LOT of work they have to be fed every 20 minutes and need a mixture of crushed fruit flies (preferably fresh) and nectar. Brenda has dedicated a number of years to helping hummingbirds both rescuing them and creating a habitat for them on her property. Interspersed with Montgomery's story of helping Brenda with the orphaned baby hummingbirds are facts about hummingbirds. These birds are incredibly fragile but also the most acrobatic birds in existence. There are also some photographs included - both of the orphaned babies Montgomery helps with and other varieties of hummingbirds. It's noted that this book was a chapter in a previous book but I didn't realize that when I checked this one out. I just love Montgomery's writing and realized this was one I hadn't read. I basically read it a day and it probably could have been one sitting. But it a short, sweet story of two baby hummingbirds that were rescued and went on to be released back into the wild.

Soundtrack of Silence: love, loss, and a playlist for life by Matt Hay

Matt Hay didn't realize as he was growing up that he didn't hear as well as his peers. He was compensating for his diminished hearing without even realizing it. When he tries to enroll in West Point he's denied due to failing the hearing test, but even then doesn't really realize the extent of his hearing loss and issues. In college he is diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 2 or NF2 - a rare condition where tumors grow on the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. Removing these tumors is extremely complex because of where they are located and how fragile these nerves are. Right around the diagnosis is when he meets his future wife Nora. While not the best romance backstory, Nora goes into their relationship knowing full well about Matt's medical issues and how they will progress - basically, it's guaranteed that he will become fully deaf. Hay grew up in the 80's and music was the background of his childhood and young adulthood. He decided to memorize all the important songs from his life so that he could "listen" to them in his head once he lost all hearing. Shortly before Matt and Nora get married he has his first major surgery that results in him having to relearn to walk and be out of work for several months. He has different, major complications after his second major surgery to implant an experimental hearing device and ends up partial facial paralysis that creates a whole new major problem with one of his eyes. Through all this Nora is both the primary breadwinner and Matt's caretaker especially during the immediate aftermath of his surgeries. Then they decide they really want children. But with NF2 being genetic that entails IVF and genetic testing of the embryos. Miraculously they end up with twins after the first go with IVF and another daughter the second round a few years later. Matt eventually ends up working a pharmaceutical company as the US director of advocacy for NF.

I picked up this book because like Matt I grew up in the 80's and have a HUGE love for music. Losing my hearing and never being able to hear live music again is a real fear. So, I was curious about his story. He is a good writer and there is a lot of humor despite the hard situations but sometimes it was hard to read about all the surgeries and botched procedures trying to fix side effects of the surgeries, etc. He admits it but his wife is a SAINT. When they had 3 small kids and both are working and he decides NOW is the time to train for the Ironman triathlon I was like, REALLY?! He does own that that was not his best decision but still. I also can't imagine wanting to add kids to the mix when he was still so limited physically. I guess because I never wanted kids I never felt that huge pull to have them but it was still surprising because that was even MORE work his wife took on. Overall, the book was well written and shined a light on a rare condition that I had never heard of before. But I didn't love it and it was hard reading about so much bad stuff happening to one family.

Some quotes I liked:

"Concerts ranked just below rent and food on our monthly budgets. Whether or not we realized it at the time, we drank in each show with a sense of urgency. These weren't casual live-music experiences. We were imprinting memories onto our collective psyche, moments we could fall back on when the silence finally came." (p. 86)

"Remember that rich kid in first grade who came to school with the giant box of Crayola crayons, all sixty-four colors, with names like burnt sienna and sky blue?...the box of crayons was perfect, a full panoply of everything you could want - mountain meadow, cadet blue, atomic tangerine, neon carrot - the box even had a built-in sharpener. That kid with his crayons is a person with normal hearing. Those of us with NF2 who get an implant have the three-pack of crayons you get with the kids' menu at Applebee's." (p. 153)

The French Ingredient by Jane Bertch

Jane Bertch is working for a bank in London when she has the opportunity to transfer to a position in Paris. She immediately jumps on the opportunity but transitioning to life in Paris is much harder than life in London. Parisians are much more closed off socially and don't like to mix work and personal lives so becoming friends with coworkers isn't really a thing. Jane also has language (she knows French but is not fluent) and cultural barriers of overcome. Thankfully her boss helps her understand French culture and over time she does excel in her job. After losing a close friend and her grandmother Jane starts thinking about leaving banking and doing something completely different. She decides to open a cooking school with classes in both French and English and catered more to tourists who want to do more on their Paris vacation. Opening a business in another country is a huge challenge but La Cuisine defies the odds and becomes successful - surviving several calamities like the Iceland volcano eruption of 2010, a terrorist attack on Paris, and COVID. Jane does a great job throughout the book of explaining all the cultural differences between American and French culture and how she managed to navigate all that in both her personal and professional life.

While I did mostly like the book there were several issues I noticed. How did she quit her job and manage to open this business?! She's not a French citizen so I assume she had a work visa that would have ended when she quit her job. Also, the money. I don't need detailed chapters on the finances but I doubt any of this was cheap. She and Olivier start out dating and seem to open La Cuisine together but that's not super clear either and then their break up is just briefly mentioned but he's still her business partner. Did he quit his job when she did? I have a lot of questions about that. I also could have done without 3 chapters on COVID at the end. Overall, I liked the first half to two-thirds better than the end. I feel like there was important stuff left out and too much COVID in the last third of the book.

July 2024 Cookbook Reviews

 

Homestyle Kitchen: fresh & timeless comfort food for sharing by Julia Rutland

This is a great, basic cookbook focusing on homestyle/homemade food. There is a large range of recipes and they all look easy to execute. There were a few that I'd like to try. Overall, this looks like a good, solid cookbook if you would like to incorporate more homestyle/homemade food into your kitchen.

July 2024 Reviews

During COVID I started re-reading a children's book series in the summer. I didn't do it last year because my Dad died at the beginning of the summer. So, this year I thought I would re-start that and decided to re-read the Harper Hall trilogy by Anne McCaffrey. At the time I originally read them they were considered YA books but now my library has them as Adult Sci-fi. After re-reading the trilogy I basically only really remembered the first book - re-reading the other two were almost like brand new books. I also enjoyed re-reading the first one the most, maybe because I remembered more of the storyline. As a teenager these books opened the door to me to McCaffrey's world of Pern and dragons and I read almost everything she wrote after that. I did enjoy re-reading these and will consider re-reading more McCaffrey in the future. I also miss the 80's covers - I don't like the current book covers nearly as much as the old ones.

Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

This was the first Anne McCaffrey book that I read as a teenager back in the early 90's. I think back then the Harper Hall trilogy was considered YA which is probably how I stumbled on them. I immediately fell in love with Pern, dragons, and Menolly. I immediately started reading all the Anne McCaffrey I could get my hands on and read all her books up until her death. I never got into other sci/fi/fantasy books but always loved McCaffrey. This year I decided to re-read the Harper Hall trilogy over the summer and thankfully I still enjoyed it just as much as an adult. McCaffrey is such a great writer and her descriptions make you feel like you are right there on Pern too.

In Dragonsong we're introduced to fifteen-year-old Menolly. She is the youngest daughter of the Sea Holder of Half-Circle Sea Hold. Menolly is musically gifted but her father doesn't believe women should be Harpers. The old Harper, Petiron, at Half-Circle recognizes Menolly's talent and allows her more leeway, even sending off two of her original songs to the Masterharper. But when Petiron dies, Menolly's father forbids her from creating any original music. Not long after that Menolly discovers a group of fire lizards when out foraging. Realizing she doesn't have a good future in Half-Circle, Menolly decides to go back to where she found the fire lizards and accidentally Impresses 9 of them. She then decides to stay in the cave where she found them and live on her own. One day while out foraging further from her cave she is unexpectedly caught in Threadfall. A passing dragon spots her and she is taken to Brenden Weyr where her talents with both music and fire lizards are immediately recognized. Menolly now has the chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a Harper.

Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey

Dragonsinger picks up where Dragonsong ends with Menolly now at Harper Hall learning to be a harper and being celebrated for her musical abilities and her nine fire dragons. While Menolly was beyond excited to be a part of Harper Hall, she's more than out of her element and not everyone is happy she is there. She gets pushback from some of the other Masters who aren't keen on a woman harper. She also makes some social gaffes that cause some of the other female students to dislike her. After growing up with a father who beat her for making music, it takes her awhile to figure out just how talented she really is and how much Masterharper Robinton sees in her. She's also equally sought out to help other, newer fire lizard owners as she successfully Impressed nine. Despite a somewhat rough start, by the end of Dragonsinger Menolly is coming into her own at Harper Hall.

This one had a much more YA feel to it than Dragonsong. Maybe it's the school-type setting or the jealous/gossipy girls but this one felt a little more geared towards teens. It also strangely reminded me of Harry Potter, although this obviously was published WAY earlier. I think it was the super special/highly talented kid who doesn't realize their own talent (or backstory in the case of Harry) and almost immediately makes both good friends and enemies - plus the school-type setting. I really didn't remember much, if any, of the details from this book, but I did enjoy reading it and I liked seeing Menolly start to recognize her own talent and skills.

Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey

Dragondrums is the final book in the Harper Hall trilogy and focuses on Piemur. The book starts with Piemur's voice starting to change so he is moved from focusing on singing to learning to be a drum messenger. But he gets off to a very rocky start with his fellow drum apprentices and his Master. While working on a secret mission of Masterharper Robinton, Piemur steals a fire lizard egg and finds himself unexpectedly in the Southern Continent where many rogue Pern inhabitants end up. There is a more political tone to this book in the series and without remembering all the details of the Pern books I read decades ago, it was kind of hard to piece everything together that was going on. Apparently I remembered nothing from reading this book back in the 90's so it was like a new book for me. I didn't like this one nearly as much as Menolly's start in Dragonsong and while Piemur is a likable character, I didn't like that he stole a fire lizard egg and was basically rewarding for doing wrong because the person he stole from was worse. Learning more about the Southern Continent of Pern was interesting but overall I liked this one the least of the trilogy. I did enjoy re-reading the trilogy and maybe I'll re-read some more McCaffrey Pern books in the future.

Vacation Books 2024

This was my vacation book stack that I took to the Outer Banks of NC this year. I read 3 and started a 4th while we were at the beach and finished 5 of the 6 by the end of July.

Field Notes for the Wilderness: practices for an evolving faith by Sarah Bessey

Growing up in church and then finding yourself in the wilderness can be disconcerting. I've struggled with church a LOT and feel like I've been in the wilderness for awhile with no end in sight. I'd read two of Bessey's previous books (Jesus Feminist and Out of Sorts) and liked them. I was excited to check this one out since I felt like I could use some Field Notes for the Wilderness. While I did like it and Bessey is a good writer, I didn't love it. I already knew that I don't agree with all of her theological views (and I don't have to in order to appreciate her or the book). I feel like she does give some good advice but I was left feeling like there have to be more options for the middle and not going to one extreme or another. Overall, I didn't love it but I did enjoy her writing, humor and compassion around a hard issue.

Some quotes I liked:

"In the New Testament, Paul tells us what the fruits of the Spirit are, and it's not too complicated really: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control...I'm not interested in being discipled in outrage. We don't need more selfish and impatient role models. This world isn't crying out for more division and brokenness. Nope, we're good, thanks." (p. 145-46)

"Sometimes it reminds me of the days back when Brian and I were in a Texas megachurch and it would come up in conversation that I was a feminist. People would sort of cock their heads and this confused expression would appear on their faces because, well, they had a picture in their minds of what a scary feminist would look like in real life - thanks to stereotypes and fear-mongering media or Christian leaders. And I? Well, I didn't seem to fit the bill." (p. 160)

"Look at the miraculous feedings of four thousand and five thousand in the book of Mark. Both times, Jesus asks the disciples what they have - it is, of course, never enough. And each time Jesus blesses what they have, breaks it, and then gives it back to them. They are invited to participate in the feeding. The miracle isn't only in the multiplying; the miracle unfolds in the invitation to participate." (p. 185)

My Life With Sea Turtles by Christine Figgener

Christine Figgener was always interested in the ocean and wanted to be a scientist and work with animals. She grew up in an industrial town in Germany but worked her way into an internship with a dolphinarium and then went to college to study biology. While working on her Master's degree she ended up working in Costa Rica where she still lives today working with sea turtle conservation. The work of a field scientist is HARD - dirty, hot, odd hours, low pay, etc. But Figgener feels it's all worth it to get to help these amazing creatures. The book is pretty scientific but she intersperses scientific information about sea turtles with her personal stories of working with these animals. I was amazed at the level of dedication and work she and her team does to both study sea turtles and keep them from extinction. I've been lucky enough to see some green sea turtles in person when snorkeling in Hawaii and it was amazing. You'll learn a LOT about sea turtles and the amazing work Figgener and her organization are doing to keep them around.

Some quotes I liked:

"Leatherbacks are among the few animals that help keep jellyfish populations in check. The latter are multiplying exponentially as our oceans are increasingly being polluted by excess use of fertilizers in agriculture, and jellyfish have become a real nuisance in tourist areas and for fisheries. The dietary preferences of leatherbacks are a natural way to control them." (p. 82-83)

"Green turtles with their vegetarian diet play an important role in maintaining seagrass meadows. They are highly selective grazers, and as they feed, they create natural disturbances just as storm waves do. These disturbances ensure continuous regrowth of the seagrass while preventing some of the faster-growing species from taking over. The biochemical composition of younger leaves of seagrass make them easier to digest...Through selective grazing, green turtles ensure seagrass meadows are full of young leaves that are investing more of their available energy in nitrogen and carbohydrates and less in structural material. This benefits not only the green turtles but also a host of other marine herbivores, large and small." (p. 87) [This is very similar to rotational grazing with cattle that is done in regenerative farming and creates more grass and more nutritional grass for the cattle or herbivores grazing]

So Late in the Day: stories of women and men by Claire Keegan

I read and LOVED Keegan's previous novellas Small Things Like These and Foster. I was excited to check out this short, short-story collection. As the subtitle tells you the stories are all about women and men and in my opinion each story gets darker. The final story, Antarctica, is SUPER dark and I was honestly glad I wasn't alone when I read it! Keegan's writing is spot on and as always she is able to convey so much with so few words. I didn't like this one as much as her previous novellas, primarily because the last story was SO dark, but I love her as a writer and will keep reading whatever she puts out next.

If You Can't Take the Heat: tales of food, feminism, and fury by Geraldine DeRuiter

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I did enjoy it. When Mario Batali was ousted from his restaurant due to sexual misconduct allegations his apology letter included a recipe for cinnamon rolls. Geraldine DeRuiter decided to make the rolls and wrote a scathing essay about misogyny in the food world. This book includes that essay (which DeRuiter won a James Beard award for) and several other food-related essays that are more about DeRuiter's personal history than professional cooking (which was more what I expected based on the book description). DeRuiter is a good writer and is funny is a sarcastic and self-deprecating way and for the most part I enjoyed the book. I thought it would be more about "food, feminism, and fury" in the professional cooking world, so I was a little disappointed that it was more about her crazy Italian-American family and other food-related personal stories. Still worth reading and if she creates a product line with "food, feminism, and fury" emblazoned I will be the first in line to buy!

Some quotes I liked:

"The best rebellion I could ever come up with [against diet culture for women] was endeavoring to love myself and hurling every piece of dietary advice out the window with the zeal of someone tossing out a cheating lover's belongings." (p. 15)

"...(pockets on women's clothing, on the rare occasion they are present at all, are just deep enough to carry exactly three baby teeth)." (p. 124)

"The maitre d', seeing our confusion, walks over. 'The women's menus don't have prices,' he explains. 'Because women don't want to think about money.' We all look meaningfully at one another for a few moments, before Nicole and Oli and Rand and I wordlessly trade menus. As I peruse the numbers next to the dishes, the world slowly falls into place again. 'This is so unsettling,' Rand says, staring at the price-less menu. I pat his knee sympathetically. 'Try not thinking about money,' I say." (p. 131) [I had never heard of "women's menus" that didn't include prices before reading this.]

"Maybe it's more that people don't want women thinking about money, because if we do, we might start burning shit to the ground, and nothing kills the fine dining atmosphere like a gallon of gasoline, a match, and a feminist agenda. It's a recurring theme I've found: The entire notion of fine dining service, and the proper behaviors expected from such an environment, rest on these antiquated gender roles. And to challenge these concepts - which are supposedly indications of polite, genteel society - is to risk coming across as unfeminine, difficult, and rude." (p. 140)

Come & Get It by Kiley Reid

Millie Cousins is a second year Senior at the University of Arkansas and works as an RA in her dorm. When a visiting professor, Agatha Paul, joins the faculty for a year Millie helps her find students to interview for a future book idea. Throughout the course of the Fall semester Millie becomes overly involved with both Agatha and three students who are sharing a suite in her dorm. The characters are both Black and White, young and older, and issues of race, class, and money all come up and are explored in a variety of ways throughout the book.

I absolutely LOVED Such a Fun Age and was really looking forward to this one. I didn't love this one but Reid's writing is fabulous and she really did a great job fleshing out each character. There are some similar themes around race and money but explored in different ways than in her previous book. In both there is an almost-middle-aged White woman who seems weirdly fixated on younger Black women and in both issues of class/socioeconomics and money are explored. Maybe it was the college setting but I just didn't like this one nearly as much. And when you find out Kennedy's "big secret/problem" is a huge letdown - maybe that was on purpose to highlight college student attitudes but it seemed weird. The ending was also VERY weird and I didn't understand why it played out like that at all (trying to not give anything away here). There were definitely some things to think about after reading this one but I just don't think it hit the mark like Such a Fun Age did.

I also loved how she wrote one character's Southern accent:

"Out in the kitchen, Casey said, 'Tahler, don't crah!'" = 'Taylor, don't cry!' (p. 211)
More Casey "...'Hang on, sister. Lemme grab mah keys...Ah'm comin'!" (p. 214)

June 2024 Cookbook Reviews

 

Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food: recipes and stories from mountain kitchens by Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley

This is a great collection of recipes and stories around Appalachian food. The co-authors are both experts in the field of Appalachian food and both offer several personal stories of how their families used these ingredients and recipes in their lifetimes. There are 27 chapters that each focus on a type of food - sometimes an ingredient and sometimes a meal or preparation method - like Corn and Cornmeal, Root Crops, Wild Fruit, and Pickles for some examples. They also include glossary of Appalachian food terms at the beginning of the book so that some of the recipe titles or ingredients make sense. There were a few recipes I'd like to try and overall this is a well-rounded book that celebrates the food and culture of Appalachia.

June 2024 Reviews

 

The Hungry Season by Lisa M. Hamilton

In 1964 Ia Moua is born in Laos. Her entire life her country has been at war with Vietnam but it didn't directly affect her much as her family lived higher in the mountains where they grew "dry" rice in their small village. When Ia is 13 she finds out that her parents have promised her in marriage to a much older man. Unhappy about this, she decides to marry on her own secretly to Chou Lor a local villager who is 16. This is not a marriage for love but the only way Ia can have any say in her own future. Not long after they are married the conflict comes closer and they are forced to leave their village and attempt to flee to Thailand. Ia tries to get her parents and younger brother to come with them but they are separated - Ia will never see her father again and it will be 20+ years before she sees her mother again. Ia gives birth to 8 children over 15 years in a Thai refugee camp before the family is able to move to the US. Here they have more opportunity but also encounter enormous challenges including racism, language and cultural barriers, poverty, and separation from extended family. With no English and limited skills, Ia finds land and starts cultivating rice - the rice she grew up eating and this becomes what bridges Laos and America for her and the displaced Hmong community living in the US.

I thought this would be a cool story of this immigrant woman who makes it to the US against crazy odds and finds success growing rice that connects her to her Laotian history. But, Ia's story while remarkable is extremely sad and depressing. Her husband was a dick and cheated on her throughout their marriage. Her family back in Laos saw her as "rich" because she was living in the US and constantly asked her for money. When they would go back to Laos and provide a huge feast Ia and the other women would still eat last because women are at the bottom culturally in Laos. Damn if I would come back and feed all these people and still be last to eat! Her younger brother was also a dick who expected her to fund his whole life while he laid around barely doing anything. Her farming in the US was also frustrating because she used SO MANY chemicals because the area was not really suited for farming at all - especially rice. She often would source illegal chemicals because they "worked better." I wouldn't be surprised if the health issues she and her husband both suffered from were 50% from the trauma they endured before coming to the US and 50% the chemicals they were exposing themselves to in their farming.

I think this book does a great job of highlighting just how hard being an immigrant is. Ia and Chou Lor escaped a war zone, lived for 15 years in a refugee camp (they had to wait for his father to die because he didn't want to come to the US where men weren't at the top of the social/cultural hierarchy), and very much struggled to acclimate to living in the US. Ia lives in two worlds - she still believed the Laotian customs and continued to live by those cultural standards in many ways but she was also almost single-handedly pulling her huge family out of poverty in the US by finding ways for all of them to work together and make it. Overall, I do think she is an interesting and inspirational person but this was not a fun read by any stretch.

Some quotes I liked:

"There was a postal service of sorts, but neither Ia nor her mother knew how to read or write. Now, with the purchase of these recorders, there would be a delicate magnetic tape like an umbilical cord pulsing across the Mekong...Her mother was too poor to buy new cassettes; each time, she would record over her daughter's message and send the tape back that way. But Ia bought a new one every time, so that she could keep the recordings her mother had sent. On days when Ia missed her the most, she would play back an old cassette." (p. 94-95)

"In fact, they had received their initial clearance for resettlement as soon as they arrived at Ban Vinai [the Thai refugee camp], in 1979. Because Ia's father-in-law refused to go - and no one dared defy him - they gave their registration materials to a relative...For older men, not the least important of these elements was the accepted hierarchy that placed them at the top of an immovable pyramid...without translatable skills, these men who had always been self-sufficient farmers became financially dependent on government handouts. How without English, they became socially dependent on their grandchildren to communicate with the larger world. Should those men sign the resettlement papers and board a plane, what remained of the traditional power structure would crumble, and they would be lost in the rubble." (p. 105-106)

"After roughly a year [of adult school for refugees], he was deemed work-ready and placed at a McDonald's. He washed dishes, cleaned the deep fryer, scrubbed the bathrooms, and mopped the floors. For the first three months, the state paid his wages. After that, the paychecks stopped, even as Chou Lor continued working five days a week and was transferred to a new location across town. He didn't understand the system well enough to know this was not right, much less to protest or ask for his back pay. Instead, assuming that working for free was the requirement so that his family of eleven could continue to receive public assistance, he just kept showing up. This went on for a year, until one day the manager called him into the office. No one had taught Chou Lor how to use the time clock, and since there was no record of his having punched in and out for his shifts, the manager accused him of having skipped work. He was fired." (p. 115) [Even though Chou Lor was a dick this makes me hate McDonald's even more - he worked for free for a year and you think they didn't know?!]

"The rice was a medium for memory, a spiritual bridge on which her heart could walk across all that longing and return to when she was with them both in person. It happened when the first green shoots poked through the soil, then when the leaves grew thick and the wind rushed through them. When the plants miraculously flowered and then fill out the stomach of each little grain, the past that felt so far away came surging back...At the farm, she could touch them again - almost. And there was the bittersweetness: the rice brought her closer to them, while at the same time clarifying just how far away each of them really was." (p. 130)

Justice is Served: a tale of scallops, the law, and cooking for RBG by Leslie Karst

Leslie Karst is an unhappy lawyer who went to culinary school as a way to bring some creativity into her life. She has the opportunity to cook a dinner for Ruth and Marty Ginsburg because her Dad and Ruth knew each other from both teaching law school before Ruth was a Supreme Court Justice and the "Notorious RBG". When Karst finds out about the opportunity, she spends 9 months planning out every aspect of the dinner. Karst and her wife Robin have the opportunity to take part in a few other events with Ruth and Marty before the dinner so it's a whole weekend filled with unique opportunities to interact with such an influential couple.

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book. I mainly decided to read it because I LOVE RBG and I also love food and cooking so it sounded like a good combination. I never thought it would literally be 210 pages of prepping for 34 pages of the dinner party. I guess I assumed that she would cook for RBG and then this would bring about a new career path as it was obvious that she didn't enjoy working as a lawyer. And it did. But only after 210 pages of detailed talk about every ingredient, every dish, every piece of cutlery and china, champagne glasses, etc. The writing was engaging but honestly it did get old. I don't know that this needed to be a full book. It could have been a short story/memoir piece of like 50 pages. She does include an "interlude" in each chapter with facts about RBG so that added to the book. She also includes the recipes for each dish she made at the end. Overall, I didn't love it. I almost wish I had read the first 2-3 chapters and the last 2 chapters - that would give you the overall gist of everything without all the details and obsessing over every piece of china and ingredient. I wouldn't recommend this one.

Analog Christian: cultivating contentment, resilience, and wisdom in the digital age by Jay Y. Kim

Pastor Jay Kim explores how the digital age and social media affect the life and discipleship of Christians in Analog Christian. Kim isn't a luddite who thinks we shouldn't use technology, his church is in Silicon Valley and he uses technology like everyone else. But today are we using technology or is it controlling us? Kim uses the Fruit of the Spirit to compare and contrast with technology and social media to highlight the attributes Christians should strive to embody and how easy technology makes it for us to do the opposite. Kim divides the chapters into three section - Cultivating Contentment, Cultivating Resilience, and Cultivating Wisdom. He does a great job in each chapter of giving good, real world examples and ways Christians can combat these temptations. I feel like often Christian books can be too heavy handed or repetitive and often use ridiculous examples that feel like they are for children. Kim's book is not like that. He makes his case well, the writing is good and engaging, and he also includes some discussion questions at the end for each chapter. I think this would be a great small group book because it's so relevant and it's just so easy to get caught up in the current technology and instant gratification culture. Like most things there is a middle ground with technology and as Christians we should look at everything through the lens of the Bible and find ways to use technology without letting it control or use us.

Some quotes I liked:

"For every person killed by another, there are more than two and a half people killed by themselves...Between 2006 and 2016, the suicide rate for those between ages ten and seventeen rose by 70 percent. In that same time, the number of high school students who admitted having suicidal thoughts rose by 25 percent and the number of teens diagnosed with clinical depression rose by nearly 40 percent." (p. 18)

"What we need in the digital age is less food delivery and more farming. This is probably true in a literal sense, but it is undoubtedly true metaphorically. The fact that the Scriptures use agrarian imagery to describe the life of formation into Christ-likeness is not primarily because society was agrarian at the time - it's because farming and gardening are patient works. And so is discipleship to Jesus." (p. 72)

"The theologian Esau McCaulley puts it this way: 'God's vision for his people is not for the elimination of ethnicity to form a colorblind uniformity of sanctified blandness. Instead, God sees the creation of a community of different cultures united by faith in his Son as a manifestation of the expansive nature of his grace.'" (p. 98-99)

"For most of my life, evangelical Christianity has been the awkward kid lingering on the fringes of the in-crowd, desperate to get into the club. This is why leaders like [Carl] Lentz [of Hillsongs Church] stand out. He'd achieved what we all thought we wanted - cultural relevance. But as Sixsmith writes, 'If they share 90 percent of my lifestyle and values, then there is nothing especially inspiring about them. Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me.' While achieving cultural relevance isn't all bad, when it comes at the cost of faithfulness, it's hollow at best and destructive at worst." (p. 114-15)

"Recent data shows that up to 40 percent of the population qualifies categorically as internet addicts. Another data point reveals that among university students, nearly 90 percent are either addicted or bordering on digital addiction...Adam Alter puts it this way: 'Life is more convenient than ever, but convenience has also weaponized temptation.' Ease of use, accessibility, and speed have overwhelmed our senses with digital temptations." (p. 138)

Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food: recipes and stories from mountain kitchens by Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley

This is a great collection of recipes and stories around Appalachian food. The co-authors are both experts in the field of Appalachian food and both offer several personal stories of how their families used these ingredients and recipes in their lifetimes. There are 27 chapters that each focus on a type of food - sometimes an ingredient and sometimes a meal or preparation method - like Corn and Cornmeal, Root Crops, Wild Fruit, and Pickles for some examples. They also include glossary of Appalachian food terms at the beginning of the book so that some of the recipe titles or ingredients make sense. There were a few recipes I'd like to try and overall this is a well-rounded book that celebrates the food and culture of Appalachia.

The Manicurist's Daughter: a memoir by Susan Lieu

Susan Lieu's mother died when Susan was 11 from botched cosmetic surgery. Susan's mother was only 38. Susan's parents and older siblings were all born in Vietnam and were boat people who escaped and immigrated to America. Susan was the only child born in America. Her parents worked a variety of jobs and then managed to buy a nail salon (named after Susan) that was later expanded to two salons. That enabled Susan's mother to sponsor several family members from Vietnam who all came and worked in the salons and lived in the house with the family. After Susan's mother's death the family just fell apart. Their mother was the ambitious one who pushed to make everything happen and without her the businesses failed and then there was a rift between Susan's father and her aunts. As the youngest, Susan seemed to take her mother's death the hardest, but her family didn't make it any easier. Even though they had all been living in America for years, the older family members were still very much culturally Vietnamese and every time Susan would ask questions or be upset about her mother's death her family was very harsh with her. There was also another level of body shaming that was even more ironic given her mother's death from cosmetic surgery. As an adult, Susan eventually turned her grief and questions into a one woman show about her mother's life and death. Her family had mixed feelings about her show and were reluctant to offer information. In the end Susan's show does bring her siblings together more and once she has a child of her own she starts to view her own parents journey as immigrants differently.

A few things that stood out in this book for me:

1) Susan's family seemed VERY harsh and dysfunctional.
2) Susan's one woman show seemed odd at best and I was surprised to read about how they kept selling out, etc. Maybe that is just not something that appeals to me. I could also understand her family's reluctance - if they wouldn't/couldn't talk about their feeling and grief with each other, putting it out to strangers would be even worse for them.
3) The body shaming was insane. I did love that at the end Susan confronted one of her aunts about body shaming and reminded her that her mother died from botched cosmetic surgery and constantly focusing on weight was not helpful. There was also an added layer of focus on food and being forced to clean your plate but at the same time not be overweight. When food is pushed so hard and being thin equally pushed it just creates eating disorders or body dysmorphia.
4) I alternately felt bad for Susan and didn't like Susan. I felt for her as the 11 year old who lost her mother suddenly and with no explanation. But her fixation on her mother's death and its impact on her did get old and repetitive sometimes.
5) There was a LOT of weird psychic/spirit channeling/medium stuff that seemed weird and mostly unnecessary.

Overall, I didn't like it much. I was expecting more about her immigrant parents/family's journey and less of her one woman show and fixation on her mother's death and dysfunctional family.