This was a heart breaking yet heart warming book at the same time.. This was a book that could not be rushed but instead read at a steady pace taking all of the story in. The recipes I remembered from my childhood. This is one ladies sadness, one ladies discovery and this ladies very enjoyable read. Thank You Teresa Driscoll ( )

This was a heart breaking yet heart warming book at the same time.. This was a book that could not be rushed but instead read at a steady pace taking all of the story in. The recipes I remembered from my childhood. This is one ladies sadness, one ladies discovery and this ladies very enjoyable read. Thank You Teresa Driscoll ( )

The basic plot is as outlined in the blurb namely:

"Melissa Dance was eight years old when her mother died. They never got to say goodbye. Seventeen years later, Melissa is handed a journal. As she smooths open the pages and begins to read her mother’s words, she is instantly transported back to her childhood."

It is a very simple idea for a book, but simple ideas have to be executed to perfection to work and this one works very well. The book has a dual timeline as we follow Melissa in the present coming to terms with the book she's been given and her Mother, Eleanor in the past as she is putting her thoughts, feelings and family recipes down onto paper. The recipes are intended to remind Melissa about her childhood and the time she spent with her mum, but there are also 'recipes' for coping with life as an adult.

What is apparent is despite the fact that it is 18 years since Eleanor died, both Melissa and her father are still not fully reconciled to that loss. The book is beautifully written and it is impossible not to feel for Melissa as she reads her "Recipes". It is an emotional read and one that has you rooting for both Melissa and her father to sort themselves out and face the future, rather than being held back by the past.

It is a book that reminds you how important our relationships that we often take for granted are, and that we should cherish our memories as none of know what the future holds.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. ( )

I received a copy of this e-book for the purpose of review.

Melissa is getting ready to turn 25 and life seems to have settled into a mostly good rhythm. Melissa is a journalist who writes stories about the underdog and she calls out those who pray on them. She is recognized and not always by the people who want to congratulate her on a good story. She lives with her boyfriend Sam who has just asked for her hand in marriage but she is not sure about marriage and asks for time to think. Melissa lost her Mother to cancer at age 8 and doesn't remember a whole lot from those first 8 years with her mother. She seems to have blocked happy memories for fear she may not be able to handle the emotions they bring up. Her father Max has loving raised her the best he has known how and they have a relatively close relationship. On Melissa's 25th birthday she receives a note from a solicitor saying that he needs to meet with her. When they meet the solicitor hands her an envelope. She is told that her Mother left strict instruction to deliver this to her daughter on her 25th birthday. Melissa is taken aback. When she opens the envelope there is a journal inside written to her from her Mother. The journal is full of letters, ramblings, recipes, tips, and stories.
Melissa decides that she will keep the journal a secret from her boyfriend Sam and her father Max who had no idea it existed. Her Mother had secretly written the journal in her last months wanting to connect with a daughter she would never physically watch grow up, nurture and love. Over the course of weeks Melissa reads the book off and on when life is not getting in the way and oh how life does get in the way. As Melissa reads the book she travels through the stages of grief all over again. She is finally able to come to terms with losing her mother at a young age and how that has formed her life as it is now. She is able to understand things she has questioned all of her life but not felt her Father was the person to ask. She is able to realize what made her have certain beliefs and how now knowing the full story can change everything.
This is a wonderful story of a Mother who knows she is dying but needing to be there for her child. Needing to pass on things that only she can. To let her daughter know just how much she was loved and how sorry she is that this is how things turned out. This is also the story of a daughter who lost her Mother and has needed to understand the history of the family, the reason things ended up the way they did and how this has effected her in both good and bad ways. This is a beautifully written book. ( )