marissacwebb's review

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Food is so much more than just nourishment because what is nourishment it’s not Care and Love

carriermoore's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

mcurry1010's review

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emotional informative inspiring

5.0

ladymedievalist1's review

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emotional inspiring reflective

5.0

rebelkiss's review

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4.0

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this ebook. Crystal Wilkinson takes us on a journey to the past through today. Sharing with us memories of cooking with her family and growing up with the knowledge that food is love. I wasn’t close with my grandmothers and they weren’t people who made delicious food. So the book didn’t resonate with me like it should have. But that’s just because of my family life. I’d never heard of many of the recipes that were made in Crystal’s book. But they sound interesting.

skkwechter's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was a thoughtful, beautiful look into a slice of Appalachian life and I'm grateful that it is here. There's so much personality and nuance that is now kept on paper for more to learn about - and as people continue to age, it's so important for these stories get passed along. The writing is beautiful and engaging, and carries me to times and places I would never have gotten to see before. Just a delightful read.

fairywombgoddess's review

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emotional inspiring reflective

5.0

grjarrell's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

chrisg's review

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad

4.25

southern_librarian's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

FANTASTIC. This book has it all: history. Memoir. Food. Photos. Appalachia. And more food. Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts reads like a love letter of admiration to the author's maternal ancestors. When I got to the end, I read the author's bio and was not surprised at all to read that she had served as Kentucky's poet laureate for some years. The prose sang throughout. It was an honor to be invited (metaphorically) into Ms. Wilkinson's current and past kitchens and spend time there with her and her family. The chapters, arranged by subject (not by "entrees," "sides," "desserts," etc. like many cookbooks) were so masterfully written as to take you right into the scene. I would sit down to a table laden with any or all of the foods mentioned immediately and happily, but at the same time felt like it might almost be an intrusion or a poor facsimile if I attempted most of them myself. Still, I do think I might attempt the blackberry cobbler and the biscuits. Just those two. It would be a joy to take my own boys to pick our own fruit then use it to make a flavorful cobbler... and I'm just the biggest sucker for a good biscuit recipe. I highly recommend checking out this beautifully written (and illustrated with real family photos!) cookbook memoir.