Publisher: Riverhead
Pages 272
Source: Publisher
"All of us cook, I think, in part to feed our daily hunger, but just as important, and perhaps more so, we cook and eat to feed our spirits, keep us all in the same orbit of life.'"
'Keeping The Feast' is a moving memoir about the healing effects of food, the onset of depression, and tragic circumstances in life. Paula and John were foreign correspondents reporting on the fall of communism in 1989. Days before their wedding, Paula is brutally beaten while on assignment. Shortly after, her husband John is shot while in Romania. One ordinary day, a bullet changed their lives forever. Paula chronicles her life and takes readers into her world. She's had one failed marriage, a depressed suicidal mother, and her new marriage is suddenly threatened when John becomes seriously ill. After recovering from the bullet wound, John suffers from Hepatitis and then is thrown into a downward spiral of depression. However, Paula refused to let his depression force her to leave. She patiently waited for the same man she fell in love with to come back to her, the man who stands before her is someone entirely different. Through all her ups and downs Paula tried to remain consistent and each day they ate their meals together, each meal was carefully chosen and prepared. Each meal brought them one step closer to healing.
'Keeping the Feast' is a moving memoir. After reading the Epilogue, I looked at the title and truly understood what 'Keeping the Feast' meant. I highly recommend this memoir; it was inspirational to read Paula's emotions through hard times. She tried to be calm, collected and reasonable but at times anger was a real emotion she had to deal with. While trying to take care of her family, she also needed to take care of herself. This memoir really makes readers realized what can happen in the face of adversity. We want to hope that we would do what's best for everyone, but sudden emotions can make things difficult. Healing involves accepting. A beautiful memoir about the strength of family devotion. Life happens, and we endure.
I eyed this one in the past, but thought it might have been to sad for me at the time. Sounds good though.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I enjoyed this as much as you did, but I liked it a lot. I think my mother loved it the way you did.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a powerful book. I will keep my eye out for it. Thanks for posting! I also love the look of your blog!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about this one a year ago. I love the idea of food helping one to get over the dark times. It sounds fabulous, and I'm glad you loved it!
ReplyDeleteWhile this isn't my normal type of read, it sounds truly moving and emotional, so I'm adding it to my list. Brilliant review :)
ReplyDeleteI love memoirs and I think I have this one on my shelf. This reminds me that I need to read this!
ReplyDeleteDunno if it is for me, I have read so few memoirs in my days. But the healing of food sounds nice
ReplyDeleteThis sounds amazing, and I had not heard of it before, so thanks for your great review :)
ReplyDeleteI don't read alot of memoirs, but when I do, I prefer them to be of the "ordinary" people as opposed to the celebrity vein, and I love food related non-fiction, so this is definitely going on my TBR list.
I also really liked this one, and felt that the author really did an excellent job sharing the struggles and strife that she went through with her family. It was heartrending at times, but I did really appreciate it and think it was a very good read. Great review!
ReplyDeletei can't believe i haven't heard of this book before reading your review! i love reading memoirs and this one sounds so amazing and touching. i'm definitely adding it to my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteSeems to be quite a read. Inspiring to keep our heads up and high during hard times. Going to add it to TBR list.
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