From Scratch by Tembi Locke (4.5 stars)

From Scratch: A memoir of love, Sicily, and finding home by Tembi Locke

A memoir of more than just travel, this book is the very heartbreaking story of actress Tembi Locke and Saro, her Italian chef husband, and his battle with cancer. I was crying from the prologue and cried at just about every section involving his illness.

My travel groups highly recommended this read and I had to wait several weeks to get it from the library app, but it did not disappoint! It is so beautifully written and almost seems like a love letter to her husband, her daughter, and Italian food. Too many of the travel books I come across are written by white people who don’t even attempt to examine their privilege, so this book was one of my attempts to find more diverse authors to read.

About 2/3 of the way through it finally got a little too cheesy, ironically when she was comparing the act of making cheese to experiencing grief, but on the whole it was very moving and self-aware. It was fun to imagine her daughter making cheese and sauces by hand with the Sicilian locals. The descriptions are gorgeous and made Italy come alive for me. I loved the juxtaposition of her husband’s small-town family in Sicily and her Texas African-American family coming together. I also loved her daughter’s sass in random moments, and her frank and sad questions as she grappled with death.

I especially recommend this book for beginner/intermediate Italian learners because Locke includes a lot of the language and I personally love seeing that in my target languages. I did not know she was an actress, but it will be interesting to seek out some films she is in after reading this memoir.

This book is a love affair with food, the community that you build inside a kitchen with family. It also has a bunch of delicious looking recipes included at the end. 4.5 stars!