Cooking and Screaming: Finding My Own Recipe for Recovery (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Adrienne Kane, New York, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Not many 21-year-olds expect to have a stroke while walking down the street of their college town, but that's what happened to Kane, food writer and blogger of nosheteria.com. What started off as a casual stroll resulted in weeks of unconsciousness, months of rehabilitation in the hospital and years of daily therapeutic exercises, all due to an arteriovenous malformation (commonly known as an AVM), which initially left her completely paralyzed on her right side. Drawing strength from her love for cooking, Kane started to make physical and emotional progress by relearning how to chop vegetables by using her immobile right hand as a weight. As she struggled to rebuild her life post AVM... often fraught with anxieties and self-imposed rules, she followed her passion for food by starting a successful catering business. Kane nicely integrates memories of her childhood, family portraits (including details about her own father's stroke 13 years earlier) as well as many wonderful recipes into this story of recovery. (Feb.)
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Review

"Explores the emotional power of food. (A) delicious read."-- Ladies Home Journal --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; First Edition edition (February 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416587977
• ISBN-13: 978-1416587972
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #642,087 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cooking and Screaming - A Love Story, March 16, 2009

By	a.wooley (Northern California) - See all my reviews

Cooking and Screaming - A Love Story

I consider this book to be a love story. Kane touches the core and center of cooking - love for life. Her writing is neither pretentious nor sentimental about her life journey, considering what she went through in her young age. At 17 her successful businessman father suffered a stroke. At 21 she herself suffered a stroke just before her graduation from UC Berkeley. Those experiences are the blessings in disguise since she found what is important in her life and that helped her to create her own life in her own way. She learned the importance of empathy and compassion. What attracted me most is Kane's efforts not to yield to a poor-poor-pitiful-me attitude. She is feisty but not loud. This subtle but powerful book titled Cooking and Screaming fascinates me also knowing her meta-cognitive process during this journey.

She addressed the notion that psychological struggle (frustration, humiliation, anger, misunderstanding, true or false pride, bruised ego, etc.) was more of a challenge than that of physical inconvenience. After dealing with those emotions, she chose not to dwell on them. Dragging those emotions (lamenting, sobbing, crying, blaming and complaining) endlessly is not her cup of tea. Furthermore, the life alternating experience when her father suffered from a stroke while she was in her teens gave her plenty of lessons and strength. She shifted her energy to focus on what she loves - her renewed interest and passion - Cooking!

Her support network impressed me and touched my heart. Her faithful and caring boyfriend (now her husband), her loving family and her loyal and thoughtful close friends have demonstrated their genuine, authentic love and tremendous support and encouragement. She treasures it and keep on cooking for them and others.

It's a brilliant idea to come up with this unique format of combining the introduction of several selected recipes out of thousands and related semi-biographical articles. It helps to avoid the possible monotonous and heavy tone that a traditional chronological and linear sequence of writing sometimes would bring. It appeals to the target readers living in the age of Blog and Twitter. Interestingly enough, this non-linear method in this book escapes from spiral, self-indulgent writing, but it is logical and lyrical. It has a rhythm between the lines as if we are listening to music. Serious matters are balanced out with plenty of humor and her unique cynicism. Her vivid description when it comes to food and cooking, the speed and rhythm evokes a jazzy dancing mood. It clearly shows her passion and love for cooking.

Kane certainly spends more time on the things she loves than on excessive screaming. She is definitely not in denial. Rather she is very alert. She simply tries to enjoy her life. Her subtle but powerful book titled "Cooking and Screaming" is a love story and leaves us celebrating the resiliency of her life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, February 15, 2009

By	N. Chandrasoma (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I made the mistake of starting this book around midnight, intending to read a few pages before falling asleep. Next thing I know, it's the wee hours of the morning and I'm turning the last page--this is an impossible book to put down once you've begun. I love food memoirs and food essays mostly because the really good ones use eating and cooking as a window into a life. And Cooking and Screaming accomplishes just that. It's an inspiring story about an extraordinary experience, sure, but it's also a very universal one. And you don't often come across a story about loss and family and personal quest (very lofty subjects indeed) that is as disarmingly funny and subtle as this one. This is not a book that screams, despite the title; it's a quiet book to curl up with and read in one sitting on a rainy afternoon, but it will end up staying with you for much longer than that.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delectable Must-read!, March 7, 2009

By	J. Saunders (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

After discovering an article recently printed in the Boston Globe highlighting Adrienne Kane's work, my dad purchased me a copy of her memoir, "Cooking and Screaming," knowing that I might be able to relate to her story. I just finished this truly inspiring book, and felt compelled to sing its praises in the hopes of spreading the word about this remarkable read. I know I've discovered a rare literary find when an author gives a voice to thoughts and feelings I myself have experienced, but failed to adequately verbalize. With an honest and approachable writing style, Kane invites readers into her life, and over to her kitchen table. I felt at home in the pages of her prose, and found myself yearning for more of her delicious recipes and heartwarming personal tales as I reached the final pages. Reading "Cooking and Screaming" felt almost therapeutic for me, and following Kane on her journey to recovery and self-discovery through the kitchen was encouraging, uplifting, and an absolute pleasure. I greatly admire Kane's unwavering courage and resilience in the face of adversity, but most of all, I admire her innate and infectious passion for food. Kane allows readers to live vicariously through her culinary adventures, and the format of utilizing recipes to launch each chapter was unique and refreshing. I simply devoured this fantastic book, and highly recommend it without reservation.