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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke
15 reviews
smkelly1997's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Tembi is a beautiful writer. She is obviously a creative at heart. I struggle with eating this book. It felt rude and impersonal to rate someone’s healing journey. I only chose a four because I felt more could have been conveyed to bring me in. But again that is a personal opinion. I cannot wait to try the recipes in the back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Racism, Death of parent, Medical content, and Death
cnoguera's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Terminal illness
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
engelkat's review
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, Death, and Racism
mishawn's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Cancer
deebee223's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Racism, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Slavery
kelly_e's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Title: From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
Author: Tembi Locke
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 5.0
Pub Date: April 30, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Sincere • Luminous • Rich
📖 S Y N O P S I S
It was love at first sight for Tembi and Saro when they first met on a street in Florence. Undeterred by the lack of support from Saro's traditional Sicilian family, they decide to marry and build a beautiful life in LA with their adopted daughter, Zoela. Reconciliation with Saro's family comes when he is faced with a cancer diagnosis. Tembi Locke's memoir tells the story of three summers spent in Sicily with her daughter, as she attempts to put together a life without her husband in the Sicilian countryside, while reflecting on their beautiful romance.
💭 T H O U G H T S
From Scratch is a book filled with love and loss, of acceptance and belonging, of family and food, and of hope and healing,. The writing was simply beautiful and compelling, with the author's narration transported me to Sicily. The lush descriptions of the Sicilian countryside, and the scrumptious food added a whole extra dimension to this memoir. What I loved most about this book was the power of food, and of forgiveness. Each and every person in this book was endeared to me, especially Tembi, as I could relate to her experience of partner loss. Her daughter Zoela also provided an innocent look into grief in childhood. I laughed, I cried, and I held out hope for reconciliation. From Scratch is a portrait of how family and community bond together to support one another through the darkest moments, and I absolutely loved it!
I highly recommend the immersive and transportive experience of reading both the physical and audio books simultaneously. To me this was the perfect memoir, packed with food, emotion, and the universal experience of grief. And I cannot wait to test out some of the recipes included!
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• book lovers
• memoir readers
• anyone who has lost a partner
• foodies
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"And there somewhere between the fallen Icarus and Hera, I started to feel a duality that was becoming familiar in my grief. Part of me was exalted by getting to experience this place again many years later another part of me suddenly wanted to plunge myself into the sea. Grief did that still and often: it left me to wrestle with two contradictory feelings at once. In that moment, I felt a little like another character from mythology, Sisyphus, forever pushing his boulder uphill. My boulder was loss. And life after loss could be a repetitive loop of heavy lifting, pushing, and struggling to move to higher ground even while enjoying a view of the sea."
"I was beginning to understand that the last marriage with Saro would ultimately be our longest. He was no more gone from my life than the moon is gone from the sky in daylight. He was everywhere, yet unseen. Learning to exist in that kind of love would take time. Time is maybe the most critical aspect of loss."
"My heart will never forget while I carry this life forward."
Author: Tembi Locke
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 5.0
Pub Date: April 30, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Sincere • Luminous • Rich
📖 S Y N O P S I S
It was love at first sight for Tembi and Saro when they first met on a street in Florence. Undeterred by the lack of support from Saro's traditional Sicilian family, they decide to marry and build a beautiful life in LA with their adopted daughter, Zoela. Reconciliation with Saro's family comes when he is faced with a cancer diagnosis. Tembi Locke's memoir tells the story of three summers spent in Sicily with her daughter, as she attempts to put together a life without her husband in the Sicilian countryside, while reflecting on their beautiful romance.
💭 T H O U G H T S
From Scratch is a book filled with love and loss, of acceptance and belonging, of family and food, and of hope and healing,. The writing was simply beautiful and compelling, with the author's narration transported me to Sicily. The lush descriptions of the Sicilian countryside, and the scrumptious food added a whole extra dimension to this memoir. What I loved most about this book was the power of food, and of forgiveness. Each and every person in this book was endeared to me, especially Tembi, as I could relate to her experience of partner loss. Her daughter Zoela also provided an innocent look into grief in childhood. I laughed, I cried, and I held out hope for reconciliation. From Scratch is a portrait of how family and community bond together to support one another through the darkest moments, and I absolutely loved it!
I highly recommend the immersive and transportive experience of reading both the physical and audio books simultaneously. To me this was the perfect memoir, packed with food, emotion, and the universal experience of grief. And I cannot wait to test out some of the recipes included!
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• book lovers
• memoir readers
• anyone who has lost a partner
• foodies
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"And there somewhere between the fallen Icarus and Hera, I started to feel a duality that was becoming familiar in my grief. Part of me was exalted by getting to experience this place again many years later another part of me suddenly wanted to plunge myself into the sea. Grief did that still and often: it left me to wrestle with two contradictory feelings at once. In that moment, I felt a little like another character from mythology, Sisyphus, forever pushing his boulder uphill. My boulder was loss. And life after loss could be a repetitive loop of heavy lifting, pushing, and struggling to move to higher ground even while enjoying a view of the sea."
"I was beginning to understand that the last marriage with Saro would ultimately be our longest. He was no more gone from my life than the moon is gone from the sky in daylight. He was everywhere, yet unseen. Learning to exist in that kind of love would take time. Time is maybe the most critical aspect of loss."
"My heart will never forget while I carry this life forward."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Infertility
Minor: Racism
death of partner, adoptionbookwormjimmy's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
A touching memoir of love and loss, a look at grief and a hope for optimism. Tembi Locke recalls her story of meeting Saro, her Sicilian husband, while on a trip to Italy, their time falling in love together, and how cancer slowly crept into their lives and took Saro away. Locke reflects on the cultural obstacles she and Saro would have to face together. His traditional Sicilian family wasn't exactly thrilled that he was marrying a black, American women, and the divide it would create would strain their relationship early on. Will their families ever meet?
This was a beautiful, inspiring read that's more than the trope of finding oneself in the hills of Italy through prayer, eating, and falling in love. No, it's more than that. From the moment Tembi sat down at Saro's restaurant and was treated to a symphony of dishes that's practically the epitome of their falling in love, I was hooked. I wanted to see them succeed and live a happy life, even though from the first few pages you know full well the conclusion of Saro's story. Locke weaves a narrative that's an outpouring of her grief, yet still offers a glimmer of optimism to what the future holds for her and their daughter Zoela.
A beautiful story that's worth reading. Definitely recommend!
This was a beautiful, inspiring read that's more than the trope of finding oneself in the hills of Italy through prayer, eating, and falling in love. No, it's more than that. From the moment Tembi sat down at Saro's restaurant and was treated to a symphony of dishes that's practically the epitome of their falling in love, I was hooked. I wanted to see them succeed and live a happy life, even though from the first few pages you know full well the conclusion of Saro's story. Locke weaves a narrative that's an outpouring of her grief, yet still offers a glimmer of optimism to what the future holds for her and their daughter Zoela.
A beautiful story that's worth reading. Definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
jenny_d's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Child death