Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family by Hannah Howard

*Warning: this memoir discusses anorexia, bulimia and a miscarriage
To Purchase from Amazon, c 

It's only fitting I read a food memoir in the month of Thanksgiving, which is all about the food. I want to have a special appetizer on Thanksgiving and I haven't figured out just what it will be. I will say, however, this memoir gave me some inspiration, and my appetizer will definitely have a cheese component to it! 

Hannah Howard is a food writer and has a varied background in all things food: waitressing, working at a cheese shop, traveling and writing about food, and supporting local restaurants in New York City. 

Hannah has also suffered from anorexia and bulimia and her relationship with food is definitely unusual. How do you pick food as a career when it is the one thing that drives you to constantly count calories, skip meals, and gorge yourself?

The restaurant & food industry is male dominated, and Hannah decided it was time to start seeking out those women who are making a difference in a variety of ways: from opening their own restaurants, to creating getaways for foodies, to being responsible for the introduction of goat cheese to an American audience. 

As Hannah travels and makes connections, she gets married and decides to try for a baby. It's a struggle for her to make peace with her body, but as she meets and befriends women in the food community, she begins to appreciate and come to terms with her relationship to food. She has some pretty big highs and lows in her journey to motherhood. 

I haven't met a cheese I haven't liked, so all of Hannah's descriptions of various cheeses kept me salivating! Her obvious love and appreciation for food and the people who create masterpieces from simple ingredients again reminded me to stop, savor, and take time to enjoy food. It's easy in a busy world to just eat whatever is easiest and not even taste it. It also made me a bit brave--I am always hesitant to try cooking something complicated. This was a good wake up call to step out of my comfort zone and explore and enjoy the process (and the results, if I don't muck them up!). 

I enjoyed this memoir and Hannah's journey to motherhood. It was exciting to read about so many women who are making waves in the food world. Hannah's struggle with anorexia and bulimia also helped me understand the mental pain women go through trying to uphold extreme society standards and expectations. 

Rating: 4/6 for a thoughtful memoir about food, motherhood, and mental illness. Hannah's writing is engaging, thoughtful, and from the heart. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook. 


**“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this site.**

Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins

Gambar
Well, this book was charming for me. A quick read that hopefully is the beginning of a series of tales about the people in Dove Pond, North Carolina.  Karen Hawkins is a romance author, and when I first saw this book, I knew her name was familiar to me-probably because I shelved her romances for years while I worked at B&N! But, fear not. Yes there is some romance in this novel, but it most definitely isn't a romance novel. More of a feel good, Sweet Home Alabama-Reece Witherspoon-ish kind of novel. Yes, it could find a place on the Hallmark Channel. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of Hallmark movies, in that they just are a little too perfect. The folks in Dove Pond, and the two lead female characters, most definitely aren't perfect.  Sarah Dove comes from a long line of women who have special talents. Sarah's talent is one that I think every book lover would wish for themselves: the books talk to her and tell her who they should go to next. Sarah hears them, l
Baca selengkapnya

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

Gambar
I zipped through this novel in a day--my first of 2020. It read very quickly, and I had a hard time putting it down.  Why was it so compelling? I'm not sure. It's a dual storyline, between two women: Nellie in 1956, and Alice in 2018. Both are living in the same home, and married. Nellie is married to a man who swept her off her feet, and she quickly realizes he's not a nice man. Not nice at all. He wants a wife who is pretty, looks perfect all the time, cooks, cleans, and has babies. He's not afraid to use some physical force to keep her in line.  Alice is a modern woman, who recently left her job in New York City under a cloud--although she's kept that bit of information from her husband Nate. He thinks she quit. Nate wants to move out of the city and start a family in a home set in the suburbs. Alice, very reluctantly, agrees. She's a big city lady, and used to working a lot. Nate makes enough money that she can stay home and write her novel. Alice and Nate b
Baca selengkapnya

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Gambar
This was a powerful novel, and if not for folks around me talking about it, I probably would have passed it by.  However, fate intervened, and I'm happy to have spent the time reading about Jende and Neni Jonga's experience as immigrants in America.  There is so much to talk about, it is definitely a novel you'll want to discuss with friends.  Jende is a native of Cameroon, and is living in New York City with his wife Neni and their young son, Liomi.  Jende had arrived in New York City alone, and spent a few years working hard, scraping up enough money to marry Neni and bring her to America.  His dream was to leave Cameroon, where opportunities to succeed were slim to none.  Jende is extremely hard working, of noble character, and polite to a fault.  He's also living in the U.S. without a green card, and an expired visa.   Jende's chance to make a huge leap in providing for his family comes when he's offered a job as the chauffeur to Clark Edwards, an executive
Baca selengkapnya