Release Date: March 27, 2012
From the Publisher:
A memoir of love, loss and pie.
“You will find my story is a lot like pie, a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It’s bitter. It’s messy. It’s got some sweetness, too. Sometimes the ingredients get added in the wrong order, but it has substance, it will warm your insides, and even though it isn’t perfect, it still turns out okay in the end.”
When journalist Beth M. Howard’s young husband dies suddenly, she packs up the RV he left behind and hits the American highways. At every stop along the way—whether fi lming a documentary or handing out free slices on the streets of Los Angeles—Beth uses pie as a way to fi nd purpose. Howard eventually returns to her Iowa roots and creates the perfect synergy between two of America’s greatest icons—pie and the American Gothic House, the little farmhouse immortalized in Grant Wood’s famous painting, where she now lives and runs the Pitchfork Pie Stand.
Making Piece powerfully shows how one courageous woman triumphs over tragedy. This beautifully written memoir is, ultimately, about hope. It’s about the journey of healing and recovery, of facing fears, fi nding meaning in life again, and moving forward with purpose and, eventually, joy. It’s about the nourishment of the heart and soul that comes from the simple act of giving to others, like baking a homemade pie and sharing it with someone whose pain is even greater than your own. And it tells of the role of fate, second chances and the strength found in community.
314 Pages, Harlequin NonFiction
Available: Barnes and Noble
When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. Food. Memoir. Yes, please! And I was not disappointed.
Beth’s story is like pie. Specifically, strawberry-rhubarb.
It’s bitter. It’s messy. It’s got some sweetness, too. Sometimes the ingredients get added in the wrong order, but it has substance, it will warm your insides and, even though it isn’t perfect, it still turns out okay in the end.
I was crying within the first thirty pages. Beth writes herself so well that I felt as if her words were my own. When her heart broke, mine broke right with her.
When she began to rebuild her life, my heart rejoiced with hers.
All I had to do was look around the room to see that you can lose your loved ones and still have fun, and not live like your heart is caged behind bars.
Beth’s journey was full of pain, sorrow, humor, kindness, and pie. Lots and lots of pie. I am inspired to bake pie – and lucky for me, there are recipes in the back of the book! I’m going to start with the Banana Cream Pie and then make the French Silk Pie (and according to Beth, this recipe is better than sex!).
Bottom line – this is a memoir everyone should read.
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