Recent Reads - Life From Scratch

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - Sasha Martin is the food writer and blogger who became very well-known for her mission to cook a meal from every country in the world, which she shared on her blog Global Table Adventure. That project eventually introduced Martin to the world, but in this memoir she tells her own story, how her growing up years were marked by instability and uncertainty, loss and grief. She grew up with only her mom and her older brother, and were often living in poverty, but her mom was creative and resourceful, and they were happy. Sasha and her brother were eventually cycled through a series of foster homes before going to live with her mother's friends as their guardians. Though well provided for and loved, their personal struggles continued, especially when coping with the tragedy of her brother taking his own life. Many years later, after moving around Europe with the family, and returning to the USA and beginning to reconnect with her mother, Sasha was inspired to go to culinary school. (I found it fascinating that it was the movie Babette's Feast that gave her the idea. It's one of my favorite movies.) She had always enjoyed cooking with her mother and relished opportunities to get into a kitchen and experiment.

Later, Sasha met the man known as "Mr Picky"  on the blog and they married. Sasha's relationship with her mother and other family members was still complicated and often unpredictable. She renewed her love of cooking and came up with the idea to cook a meal from a different country every week, encouraging her husband to try new foods and raising their daughter to be adventurous and open to mulit-cultural experiences. Over the course of four years, Sasha researched and cooked her way around the world, blogging about it to a growing audience, and the experience helped her reconnect with family, cope with the lingering pain and questions and complicated emotions from her past, and build new friendships and bridges in her community.

I came across Global Table Adventure partway through its journey and followed with great interest. I was homeschooling my kids and wanted to try foods from other countries occasionally as part of our educational experience so the whole idea of the blog and its recipes resonated with me. It took me all these years to finally read the book and found it poignant and moving, and it renewed my appreciation for the power of sharing a meal to connect friends and family and build community. Food is much more than just functional and utilitarian, eating just to survive, but can also be an emotional, communal, and cultural experience. Sasha's journey while cooking the world is testimony to that.

From the publisher:

Witty, warm, and poignant, food blogger Sasha Martin's memoir about cooking her way to happiness and self-acceptance is a culinary journey like no other.

Over the course of 195 weeks, food writer and blogger Sash Martin set out to cook―and eat―a meal from every country in the world. As cooking unlocked the memories of her rough-and-tumble childhood and the loss and heartbreak that came with it, Martin because more determined than ever to find peace and elevate her life through the prism of food and world cultures. From the tiny, makeshift kitchen of her eccentric, creative mother, to a string of foster homes, to the house from which she launched her own cooking adventure, Martin's heartfelt, brutally honest memoir reveals the power of cooking to bond, to empower, and to heal―and celebrates the simple truth that happiness is created from within.

This is a book that spans a decade or more (#10), and has a subtitle with a comma (#15) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026

This is #9 in the Connections Challenge. It shares a narrative technique with the previous book (first person with internal dialogue). (I'm continuing the connections from the 2025 challenge)

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

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Recent Reads - If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't)

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If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White - Everybody loved Betty White. Absolutely everybody. She was sweet and funny, and we all thought she would live forever. This particular memoir was written about ten years before this beloved actress did pass away, and it's been on my To-Read list for many years. It was a delight to finally read it.

Betty starts out with a Foreword in longhand, and in a couple of places in the book she mentions that she writes exclusively in longhand. She makes quips about getting older and seems quite willing to laugh at herself, but always with cheerful optimism and a sense of gratitude and appreciation for all that she has in life. The book is a series of short anecdotes and reflections organized into sections. She talks about her career and some of the people she's been lucky to work with, about friends and how she likes to spend her time. 

Although there's a whole section of stories about animals, stories and mentions of her pets and her love for animals are sprinkled throughout the book. Betty was well-known as an animal lover and she worked with many animal welfare groups like the SPCA. 

Her positive attitude and joy in life comes through in every little story. She was kind and gracious to everyone―no jokes at anyone's expense, and you won't find her dishing any dirt. Betty was the consummate good sport about everything, and in my opinion she represented the best of what Hollywood has ever had to offer. She was one of a kind.

This is a book featuring a character that works with animals for the March 2023 Mini-Challenge.

This is a book with a subtitle (#1) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

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Recent Reads - Shirley, I Jest! A Storied Life

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Shirley, I Jest: A Storied Life by Cindy Williams - Comedian and actress Cindy Williams tells a collection of stories about her career in this memoir. The first chapter summarizes her growing up years until she went to a theatre arts college. From there she tells stories about waitressing to make ends meet while beginning to work in show business, her early roles, and experiences while travelling and filming. I found the stories about filming American Graffiti to be the most interesting, because it was a movie that really launched her career and several others! Of course, what I - and most people - most associate Williams with is the iconic show Laverne & Shirley, so my favorite section of the book began when she told about how she and Penny Marshall were asked to play the characters on an episode of Happy Days, and how that led to the spinoff series that they starred in. I loved reading about the friendship and adventures that the two of them shared off screen, as they seemed to get into almost as many comedic scrapes as they did in the show. Anecdotes about some of the many comedians, actors, and directors that Williams rubbed shoulders with and worked with over the years are included as well and are entertaining. The book has the conversational feel of sitting down with Williams and having her tell you her life story. While told chronologically, there is the sense that there are little rabbit trails and asides along the way. It was a quick read and although not as engrossing or as funny as I had hoped, it was a sweet glimpse into the backstage life of the beloved actress. RIP Cindy.

This is a book written by a comedian (#40) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

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Recent Reads - Mosaic (March Memoir for #collaboreads)

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Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far by Amy Grant - I picked this book up a couple of years ago - maybe more than that - but for whatever reason I never got around to reading it. I've admired Amy Grant and enjoyed her music since very early in her career, so now that I've finally read this collection of her thoughts and stories of what has shaped her as a person and an artist, I feel that I know her a little better, perhaps a bit more personally. Sort of like interacting with someone online, and then being able to speak to them on the phone. Interspersed throughout Amy's memories are the lyrics to the songs that were inspired or related to the events and emotions she tells about. It was a quick read, but an enjoyable one.

Riveting. {What part of the book could you NOT get enough of?} The little glimpses of being part of Amy's family and home. The everyday things like having trouble dragging oneself out of bed in the morning, getting groceries, staying connected to family and friends, juggling commitments - and how seemingly small events stand out in memory because of the poignancy of the moment or the realization that God was speaking and working in it.

Elements. {How did you relate to/care for the characters?} Amy seems just as warm and human in this book as she always has in her music. I also enjoyed learning a little more about her family, who all seem to be lovely people as well.

Associate. {What other books are like this one? Does it remind you of a TV show or movie with its themes and characters? Did it serendipitously line up with things going on in your life or in the news right now?} I haven't read very many memoirs, or at least none that I remember well at this point. I think this is different from those that I have read in that the stories Amy tells in it are not in chronological order. They are, as the subtitle says, pieces of her life, almost as if jotted down as the memories occurred to her.

Design. {You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel?}  I love the sweet cover photo of Amy, which is very like many of the photos that appear in the covers of her albums. The meaning of the title Mosaic isn't really reflected in the cover art, but it is explained in the Introduction.

Stars. {How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend?} 4.5 stars. I would recommend this to all of Amy's fans, and I think especially to those who have followed her career for a long time. The insights into the personal experience that shaped her song-writing would be appreciated by anyone who has loved those songs and perhaps wondered.

This review is linked at Rachel A. Dawson for #collaboreads (Memoir March)

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Recent Reads - Sinner's Creed

Sinner's Creed by Scott Stapp with David Ritz - Those who are familiar with the rock band Creed will probably also remember the enigmatic personality of its front man, Scott Stapp. Some tried to give the band a Christian label, but it didn't quite fit, and the band members certainly weren't promoting that label themselves. There were plenty of spiritual undertones and Christian images in the lyrics, though. In this memoir, Scott Stapp tells the story of his journey of depression, addiction, and faith; and provides some background for the songs he wrote.

Scott was raised in a Christian home, and learned early to love God, and greatly admired his stepfather. Scott admits he wanted to be the hero for his family, and was driven to excel at everything he tried. His relationship with his stepfather grew more strained over the years, until Scott finally ran away from home. He experienced some successes and many failures in his initial struggle to make it on his own and get through college, and eventually formed the band that became Creed. Through the years, he also struggled with his faith - trying to reconcile the God of love his grandfather had believed in with the judgmental and demanding God portrayed by his stepfather; and wanting to be close to God, yet continuing to make poor choices and falling into depression, addiction, and self-destructive behaviors. Scott tells how the band became a success, how his own life became more unstable, and how the eventual breakup of the band sent him into further depression and self-medication. Through the faithful love of his wife Jaclyn, Scott finally learned to trust in the grace and forgiveness of God, and rediscovered his faith.

As I read this memoir, I was reminded that unfortunately Christians don't always accurately portray God to those around us - Scott's ability to understand a loving heavenly Father was hindered by the abuse and perfectionist expectations of his stepfather - and that Christians don't always judge correctly - I had the impression that too few Christians reached out to Scott and recognized that he was wrestling with sin and faith and needed the support and prayers of a church community. Scott Stapp's story is also an encouraging reminder that God is faithful and that His Word is powerful and He promises that it won't return void, but will accomplish what He wants. (Isaiah 55:11) Scott's childhood faith and study of the Bible meant that he knew Scripture well - and that knowledge helped him when he needed it most, and was instrumental in guiding him back into the right relationship with God that he had longed for.

The lyrics Scott wrote for each of the four Creed albums are included at the end of the book, as another expression of his struggles and growth, and reading them after having read his story emphasized just how much a songwriter can bare his soul in his music.

(Book #28 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

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Recent Reads {Hillbilly Heart}

Hillbilly Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus - This is one of those books that I wouldn't have sought out or even noticed, except that it was on the library's 7-day display and for some reason it caught my eye. I figured it would be interesting to read Billy Ray's side of the controversies that have followed him and his daughter Miley Cyrus. It turned out to be a fairly good read, in which Billy Ray tells about his growing up in a small community in Kentucky and how he got started in music. His story is full of ups and downs, and is told with humor and (I think) honesty. He admits that the song that made him a star, "Achy Breaky Heart", is one that you either love or hate, and shares lyrics to a number of his songs and how he wrote them. My own favorite has always been "Some Gave All" and not surprisingly, that is the one that he calls his favorite and his signature piece. He refers often in the book to his Christian faith, but like the rest of his life, that seems to have gone through many ups and downs over the years. He also talks quite a bit about voices he has heard, and while he says that he doesn't understand that and knows it probably sounds crazy, he is just telling it how it happened. I'm not in any position to be able to judge whether his Christianity is genuine or not, and since he and Miley have made fairly public claims to be Christians in the past, that was one aspect of his biography that I would have liked to know more about. My impression after reading it is that he seems completely sincere in what he believes, but the stock he places in things like hearing voices, fortune-telling, and Native American spiritualism sort of muddy the waters. He does tell how his daughter Miley got started in the entertainment business and the effect on him and the rest of the family; he mentions some of the controversies over her behavior and her relationships, but leaves that rather open-ended. Overall, this was an entertaining read, sort of a rags-to-riches story. Billy Ray presents himself as a pretty ordinary and humble guy, who has wanted to have a stable family and make a positive difference in the world more than anything else, and that's what has driven his ambition to succeed and his belief in his music.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/