Ruth Reichl's mother was kind of depressed, kind of goofy. Reichl's written some autobiographies with scary parts. The scary parts were dinner parties. Yes, really. When her mother hosted dinner parties, things were dangerous. She was casual about serving her guests moldy food. And spoiled food. And... So how did she turn out this way?
This book tells her mother's story.
When Ruth Reichl's mother was growing up, women didn't have many choices in general. And her mother had plans for her, tried to nudge her to a life... that made her miserable. So when Ruth Reichl's mother raised Ruth Reichl, she tried not to nudge Ruth towards anything. Instead, she tried to shove Ruth away.
So this book isn't one of Reichl's food-centered biographies. Instead, it's stirring family drama. Pretty good.
