“It’s so easy to think that because you can’t do something extraordinary, you can’t do anything at all. It’s easy to decide that if you can’t overhaul your entire life in one fell swoop, then you might as well just do nothing.”
This book truly is a love letter – to life, to food, to friends and to God. Shauna Niequist shares her struggles, joys, revelations and everyday stories in this book, which is then interspersed with recipes. Niequist is a true foodie in that most of her memories and relationships revolve around food. When she remembers a moment, she can remember what the food tasted like. Her father would take her on business trips around the world when she was growing up and she got used to trying different types of food and connecting the tastes with places. As a military brat, I can related to her on this: I remember the best honey butter in Utah, the gelato in Venice, the spaetzle in Germany and the unique fruit popsicle flavors in Japan.
I borrowed the e-book from the library, but this is one I’m considering buying the hard copy. I want her recipes, but I also want her wisdom. I was in a group that went through her devotional, Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are and that is full of wisdom, too. She discusses topics such as body image, feeding ourselves well, friendships, marriage, motherhood, infertility and finding God in sharing the bread and wine with each other.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“We don’t learn to love each other well in the easy moments. Anyone is good company at a cocktail party. But love is born when we misunderstand one another and make it right, when we cry in the kitchen, when we show up uninvited with magazines and granola bars, in an effort to say, I love you.”
“I’m going to live in the body God made me, not because it’s perfect but because it’s mine. And I’m going to be thankful for health and for the ability to run and move and dance and swim.”
I would highly recommend this book to any Christian woman. It will challenge and console you. You can read the first three chapters here.
Make it part of a women’s small group or book club – there is so much to share and discuss. I plan on reading all of Niequist’s books.