Food Memoirs by Women 

Food—as sustenance, as cultural artifact, as vocational calling—is intimately explored in these memoirs, all written by women. In one way or another, each of these writers has been deeply affected by food, displaying how food can deepen familial connections as well as provide self-empowerment. 

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Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me

Dacres, who also hosts a podcast of the same title, shares how solo cooking in her Paris kitchen helped her grapple with the dissolution of the marriage that brought her to the city in the first place. You can also check out this title as eAudio on Hoopla.



Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir

Iliana Regan expands on her first memoir, “Burn the Place,” as she expounds on her relationship to foraging, which began in her childhood. Foraging has certainly represented food for Regan, but has also deepened her connection with nature and her own body and gender. You can also check out this title as eBook on Hoopla.


Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story: Remaking a Life from Scratch

Erin French’s farm-to-table restaurant The Lost Kitchen, located in the tiny town of Freedom, Maine, has quickly become one of the hardest reservations to get in the country. In “Finding Freedom,” French writes unsparingly how her current culinary successes were shaped by the many trials in her life, including becoming a mother at a young age, a toxic marriage, and a history of addiction. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on Hoopla.


Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More

At the age of 29, rising star chef Fatima Ali was tragically cut short by cancer. With “Savor,” which was published posthumously, Ali shares how cooking helped to shape every aspect of her life, from the relationship to her mother to her connection to her Pakistani heritage. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.