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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
Within the first half of the first chapter, I was convinced I was going to dislike this book. I had an inward groan as I thought it was going to be centered around performative altruism and inauthentic. I am ever so glad that it came around, slapped me in the face, and ended up being one of the more heartfelt and incredible books that I've read in a while.
Foster wrote this book after an essay (that actually encompasses the first chapter) was published that touched people and garnered interest. In that essay, she details her experience with a hired laborer that is doing house projects, his addiction to meth, her lunches with him talking about his life and struggles, and how the cycle kept going for him in terms of relapses and recoveries. This fully expanded book takes stories much like his, with people the author has met through either her work in foster care or in supporting the community around her.
While this book is definitely about the people she interacts with and their stories, it also is a lens into just how food, poverty, and trauma are all intertwined and what it means to gain either comfort or stress from the act of eating or feeding people. She explores how the 'well' exist in society and don't understand the various hardships or cycles that poverty can exert on a person. How mental health, and the treatment of it can sometimes hinder more than help and is largely viewed from that 'well' lens without establishing what a person truly needs. As stressed before, she touches on community and how social currency and other factors in people's environment and upbringing can how downstream impacts on their lives and choices.
All of this is delivered in a very honest way. She could have come in with a savior complex (and she touches on this herself), but I think she's really good at pulling up and assessing what her true purpose is when talking with people or living in her community. I can definitely say, with my own honesty, that I don't think I have the mental capacity or want at this point in my life, to do some of the work she has done. But at the very least, this book helped me examine some of my biases and formed opinions of situations of poverty and/or drug use, etc. Which makes it a valuable read for anyone who may want to do the same.
I had completely wrote this review and as soon as I finished, realized I didn't even mention the food descriptions in this book. That was an oversight. I should have mentioned them. It's not hard to believe the author has won some awards in food writing. I just want to purchase her cookbook and roll in it.
Review by M. Reynard 2023
Within the first half of the first chapter, I was convinced I was going to dislike this book. I had an inward groan as I thought it was going to be centered around performative altruism and inauthentic. I am ever so glad that it came around, slapped me in the face, and ended up being one of the more heartfelt and incredible books that I've read in a while.
Foster wrote this book after an essay (that actually encompasses the first chapter) was published that touched people and garnered interest. In that essay, she details her experience with a hired laborer that is doing house projects, his addiction to meth, her lunches with him talking about his life and struggles, and how the cycle kept going for him in terms of relapses and recoveries. This fully expanded book takes stories much like his, with people the author has met through either her work in foster care or in supporting the community around her.
While this book is definitely about the people she interacts with and their stories, it also is a lens into just how food, poverty, and trauma are all intertwined and what it means to gain either comfort or stress from the act of eating or feeding people. She explores how the 'well' exist in society and don't understand the various hardships or cycles that poverty can exert on a person. How mental health, and the treatment of it can sometimes hinder more than help and is largely viewed from that 'well' lens without establishing what a person truly needs. As stressed before, she touches on community and how social currency and other factors in people's environment and upbringing can how downstream impacts on their lives and choices.
All of this is delivered in a very honest way. She could have come in with a savior complex (and she touches on this herself), but I think she's really good at pulling up and assessing what her true purpose is when talking with people or living in her community. I can definitely say, with my own honesty, that I don't think I have the mental capacity or want at this point in my life, to do some of the work she has done. But at the very least, this book helped me examine some of my biases and formed opinions of situations of poverty and/or drug use, etc. Which makes it a valuable read for anyone who may want to do the same.
I had completely wrote this review and as soon as I finished, realized I didn't even mention the food descriptions in this book. That was an oversight. I should have mentioned them. It's not hard to believe the author has won some awards in food writing. I just want to purchase her cookbook and roll in it.
Review by M. Reynard 2023
The book is well-written but I don’t like how the author tells her children’s stories. Their lives are theirs to talk about - not hers.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Cursing, Mental illness, Abandonment, Classism
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I really loved this book, it gave me a huge perspective shift on people in need (homeless, addicts, mentally ill etc.), what they need and ways to help. It also made me view food differently and the impact it has on our daily lives. It had a big impact on my current point of view and I hope to share it and re-read it in the future!
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
This is a unique way to uncover and write about the various systems of power that exist in our world / nation and the complexities that causes. I recommend it, just make sure the author’s voice coincides with your vibe first. In reality, I did not finish this book, but that’s because by the middle of it, I found the present-tense short sentence cadence of it distracting (and maybe also reductive given the subject matter). But that’s more of a personal preference.
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Not my standard read but a fantastic read. It's an interesting combination of fascinating/ sad/ and hopeful that really makes you think about society's issues.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A powerful reflection on the author’s lives experience in Las Vegas and the ways the community has touched her. At times, the writing was awkward and focused overly on the details, but the narrative remained provocative and enlightening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced