Fatima Ali (–2019)

A lot about Savor by Fatima Ali & Tarajia Morrell resonates with me - the cultural context; the immigrant story; the power of food to unite; and the story of a young life sadly cut short. Fatima Ali's story is one I was going to remember even before reading this book. Reading this book and learning of the other challenges she and her mother overcame further reinforces that this is a life to remember.

Read my complete review at rel="nofollow" target="_top">http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/04/savor.html

#Savor reviewed for #NetGalley.… (meer)

Maybe I should have known better, but I didn’t think anything of it when I started reading this book. I thought maybe it was just another memoir of how someone made their dream come true, and that would have been interesting enough. So, when I read the preface and realized this was a memoir for someone who is no longer with us, and on top of it died young, I didn’t know what to think. This is the story of Fatima Ali, a little brown girl, who was born in Pakistan, and never let the world tell her something was impossible. Fatima may only have had 29 years, but I can say from reading her story that she really seems to have lived. She didn’t get everything she wanted, but she did so much, from attending one of the best cooking schools to going on Top Chef. At her heart she was a brilliant chef, who just wanted to bring the world good food, and a message; Pakistan has a lot to offer the world besides terrorists. The challenge for the writer here was to convey the message of Fatima Ali without being Fatima, and I would say in that mission Tarajia Morrel has succeeded beautifully. This story has it all, humor, tragedy and a wonderful story. If you have any heart whatsoever though be prepared to ugly cry your way through this, for how unfair it is that Fatima is gone, for all her suffering, the ways that the American healthcare system failed her, and above all for the family she left behind who carries on without her. It’s definitely worth reading whether you had heard of Fatima Ali, or like me, had no idea who she was. It doesn’t matter, her life can mean something to everyone. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

nonfiction/memoir - Pakastani-American woman (incidentally also Muslim and queer) trains to be a professional chef at the CIA, impressing enough people to compete on Chopped and Top Chef, and is diagnosed with terminal cancer at age 29 (Ewing's sarcoma, relatively rare but not rare enough). CW/TW: childhood sexual abuse, mixed experiences with doctors (some better, some worse) and HMOs (predictably worse).

As told by Fatima and her mother Farizeh (a successful businesswoman, divorced and remarried) with help from culinary journalist Tarajia Morrell and support from Fatima's brother Mohammad.

This is a fascinating and moving story (keep those tissues handy at the end!) that I tore through in two sittings. Highly recommended.… (meer)