Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness

Blogger Martin (globaltableadventure.com) delivers a welcome entry into the canon of foodie memoirs that begins with her journey in the Jamaica Plain of Boston where she lived with her mother and brother. Despite the family's poverty, Martin's mother nurtured her children with cooking adventures, sewing projects, and inventive home decorating. Her unconventional parenting methods attracted the attention of neighbors, and the kids were shuttled in and out of foster care until her mother finally surrendered her rights to a family friend. Although Martin was estranged from her mother and not allowed to help cook in her new home, she still marked time and place through food as the family moved from Rhode Island to Atlanta and Paris and finally to Luxemburg. Food and cooking carried her into adulthood and ultimately anchored her in Tulsa, where she challenged herself to prepare a meal from every country over the course of four years. Martin seamlessly weaves recipes into her text in a way that enhances the story. Her descriptions of meals are lavish with imagery and elegantly written, leaving the reader hungry and inspired.