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Reviews tagging 'Death'
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke
42 reviews
demilya's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A story of enduring love, unimaginable grief, and a way through it all. Tembi really capture what it means to love somebody through sickness and health; through the ups and downs. It’s a book on forgiveness because the way Saro’s parents were toward her, being Black and also foreign to them, was something I was but wasn’t prepared for. The way Tembi’s family embraced him from jump was so amazing! I just knew Black people don’t play that! But the reconciliation was beautiful once Zoela came into the picture! The strength of Nonna!
I have yet to watch the series because I wanted to witness Tembi’s world for myself, from her mouth then watch the series. I think what stick out to me the most was the care she gave, but what Saro gave her to first. He was standing in the pouring rain while she slept! If I don’t have a love like that, just keep it! A beautiful tribute to a love that knew intimately races, culture, loss, grief, strife, and food! I have to try the recipes.
I have yet to watch the series because I wanted to witness Tembi’s world for myself, from her mouth then watch the series. I think what stick out to me the most was the care she gave, but what Saro gave her to first. He was standing in the pouring rain while she slept! If I don’t have a love like that, just keep it! A beautiful tribute to a love that knew intimately races, culture, loss, grief, strife, and food! I have to try the recipes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Death
bookishkelie's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Enjoyed this memoir and the vulnerability shown by Locke. Looking forward to watching the Netflix miniseries based on this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cancer, and Grief
okiecozyreader's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A beautiful and tender memoir to be savored.
When I purchased this book, I just thought it was a book of love and Sicily and food. I didn’t realize it was also a memoir of loss from her husband of cancer. When I began it and realized it was a true story, I was surprised. I haven’t ever been it Italy, and it just amazed me - this young girl going with friends (for school), to Italy and finding this kind of love. It is an amazing story. It does jump around in timelines, and at moments, I had to think about where I was, but I felt like it also worked.
—-
“Poetry would save me… In that moment, I realized why I had returned here to this island of stone: I needed a kind of salvation. I desperately wanted, even for a moment, to shake off the ever-present sadness and fill my spirit.” P117
“Because even in grief, motherhood made me show up. It was my salvation then and had been from day one.” P119
“I had come to think of my grief as a character in my life, something I had to get to know, befriend l, make peace with because it was bigger than anything I had ever known. It pulled me down and sometimes propelled me forward.” P188
“Those Sicilian almonds were nothing like the nuts in six-ounce bags… in the United States. They were a singular act of natural goodness. They reminded me that a thing can be tender or hard, depending on conditions and care, intended or otherwise.” P182
“I couldn’t help but feel that I, too, was being stirred and molded and shaped again. A grief metamorphosis… I had begun to filter out the unneeded parts of my life. Life was separating my curd from my whey. … cheese making, especially making a wheel of infused pecorino, is a lot like dealing with grief. It requires time, labor, attention. It also needs to be left alone for a time. It requires gentle hands but also strong intentions.” P222
“Saro’s love, his life, and his loss had forged me, softening me to life and strengthening me in the broken places.” P305
When I purchased this book, I just thought it was a book of love and Sicily and food. I didn’t realize it was also a memoir of loss from her husband of cancer. When I began it and realized it was a true story, I was surprised. I haven’t ever been it Italy, and it just amazed me - this young girl going with friends (for school), to Italy and finding this kind of love. It is an amazing story. It does jump around in timelines, and at moments, I had to think about where I was, but I felt like it also worked.
—-
“Poetry would save me… In that moment, I realized why I had returned here to this island of stone: I needed a kind of salvation. I desperately wanted, even for a moment, to shake off the ever-present sadness and fill my spirit.” P117
“Because even in grief, motherhood made me show up. It was my salvation then and had been from day one.” P119
“I had come to think of my grief as a character in my life, something I had to get to know, befriend l, make peace with because it was bigger than anything I had ever known. It pulled me down and sometimes propelled me forward.” P188
“Those Sicilian almonds were nothing like the nuts in six-ounce bags… in the United States. They were a singular act of natural goodness. They reminded me that a thing can be tender or hard, depending on conditions and care, intended or otherwise.” P182
“I couldn’t help but feel that I, too, was being stirred and molded and shaped again. A grief metamorphosis… I had begun to filter out the unneeded parts of my life. Life was separating my curd from my whey. … cheese making, especially making a wheel of infused pecorino, is a lot like dealing with grief. It requires time, labor, attention. It also needs to be left alone for a time. It requires gentle hands but also strong intentions.” P222
“Saro’s love, his life, and his loss had forged me, softening me to life and strengthening me in the broken places.” P305
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Cancer
Minor: Death of parent
destheesquire's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Death
inked_in_pages's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, and Death
Moderate: Racism and Classism
katrod's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
*Trigger Warning*
This book is HARDCORE about grief. That’s on me because I didn’t read the synopsis; but I had no idea and had just lost a friend when I started reading this one.
I ended up finding a lot of beauty in seeing a written exploration of grief while I was processing my own, but enter at your own risk. This is not just a love story.
This book is HARDCORE about grief. That’s on me because I didn’t read the synopsis; but I had no idea and had just lost a friend when I started reading this one.
I ended up finding a lot of beauty in seeing a written exploration of grief while I was processing my own, but enter at your own risk. This is not just a love story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
lit_with_lauren's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Death
mckeelyshannon's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
One of my favorite lines from this book was “But I had learned identity was prismatic, that belonging requires claiming.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Cancer