Customer Reviews

Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin'

5 star:		(153)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First of all, if you have a high opinion of Paula Deen and don't want to know about her past, including lots of mistakes (by her own admission) and her bouts of agoraphobia (which left her housebound) and panic attacks, then this isn't the book for you. But there is lots to recommend here - not only are there wonderful recipes at the end of each chapter, some of which have become family favorites for us - try the chili or the ham salad sandwiches or one of her scrumptous desserts - but Deen holds nothing back and proves that a person who started out with nothing, had a low opinion of herself but lots of energy and gumption, was able to rise above her flaws and make it. It is inspiring and an amazing story, too!

I loved this book and found it VERY inspiring. Deen came from a rather modest background and she didn't have a lot of self-esteem. She married a handsome hunk of a guy, had two gorgeous boys and found herself in a mess of trouble, with a man who couldn't make ends meet and leading a hardscrabble existence. She lost her parents and felt lost, alone and very scared. Her home was repossessed. A lot of people would have given up at that point but she did not. Working nearly round the clock, she slowly built up her business.....very slowly, but steadily.


But out of her adversity, one step at a time, she learned to make it. Along the way, she made lots of mistakes but she kept persevering.

In all honesty, some readers may have trouble with some of values and decisions made by Deen but I didn't judge her a bit. We are all human and we all have our ups and downs. I find her indefatable resilience to be amazing.

What is it that makes us all fall in love with Paula Deen, that Savannah queen in the kitchen with the recipes that ooze with butter and mayo? I can't find a reason not to love her. She's a slap in the face of honesty, with a cup full of love, a dash of humor, a sprinkle of wisdom, all rolled up into a pretty recipe loaf baked at 350 degrees of yumminess.

First, you have to appreciate that she is a true southern cook, and who doesn't like good ole southern food? Second of all, she has a background story of struggling to make ends meet with two sons, working 9 to 5 in a bank, scared to go out in public, and starting her own business in the kitchen in her middle-age years. Yeah, it's a story we've all heard before, but hers is 100% honest and true.

And lastly, she cooks up recipes that anyone can do, and they are recipes that you want to try, not a recipe you throw in a box and plan to cook some day (but probably never will). Remember those over-the-top chefs from years ago that used ingredients you had never even heard of, cooking up dishes that required hundreds of dollars, gallons of sweat, hours of nail biting, prep work, and probably lots of crying? Paula is definitely not one of those cooks. People appreciate her as a person because they can relate to her on all sides of her life. She's one of us.

If you are a Paula Fan, from her cookbooks to her shows, there's a lot in this book that you've read or seen before. But there is a lot that you will be learning for the first time on these very pages as Paula reveals more about herself and who she is, which will make you appreciate Paula even more. She is truly inspiring, in and out of the kitchen.

There is an old joke here in the South about a man who gets up during a fire and brimstone sermon at church and starts to confess all of his sins. The minister is pleased with the results of his sermon and is urging the subject on by saying, "Amen brother, tell it all." Finally the confessing backslider confesses something so horrible that the preacher's jaw drops and he says, "Whoa, I don't believe I would have told that!" A few times while I was reading this book I sort of felt like that preacher because Paula tells it ALL!

She starts out the book by saying that she is going to hide nothing and is going to be totally honest with her fans. She then proceeds to admit that she is a smoker and I thought that if this was her biggest darkest secret I was going to be bored before I got through with this book. Well in true Southern fashion she was just serving up a light appetizer because there was much more to come. The much more I'm not going to give away but take it from me, Paula has been cooking in more rooms than the kitchen.

Beyond the secrets though this is a warm and endearing book that is filled with Southern slang and humor. This is the story of the average Southern girl who grows up watching her mother and grandmother cook but never dreams that cooking will be her ticket to the big time. This is the story of a girl who marries too young, loses her parents not long after that and ends up in the having to find a way to support her family. There are dark times when she has to deal with family problems and mental illness and there are times when most people would have just given up but this is also a love story with a happy ending.

If you take this roller coaster ride with Paula you will laugh with her and you will cry with her but most of all you will be pulling for this Steel Magnolia from South Georgia. She had some help writing this book but for the most part these are obviously her words and her thoughts and both come at you with a deep drawl. She talks about her personal life, her family and her business adventures and from start to finish this is one fascinating book. The story of how she and her sons brought the Bag Lady to life and how together they built what amounts to a food empire is truly the stuff of legend and her reaction to Michael after their first meeting will have you rolling on the floor. This is quite frankly one of the best and most honest autobiographies that I have ever read and I have read more than my share of them. No fan of things Southern should miss this book.

Not many people can speak with brutal honesty about the events in their lives, and fewer will give others an opportunity to respond. Paula Deen does both in this book (you'll see).

Honestly, I read this book in snippets, because I read better that way. And with this book, reading chapters out-of-order doesn't ruin any surprises. While Paula (and Sherry)'s style of writing jumps around the time periods occasionally, it is hardly an ADD read. Having watched Ms. Deen's cooking show on Food Network, I could even hear her speaking the words (probably because it is written more in the accurate Southern dialect than "cleaned up").

I won't say too much because I believe everyone who wants to read this should experience the book for themselves. Don't expect a cookbook here, although a few other recipes are shared in different aspects of time. Do expect a thoughtful, inspiring book of the life of a woman who has had more ups and downs in her life than most uppity squeaky religious folk. What impressed me the most was how she transformed the lemons into lemonade and put her faith AND grace to work. We should all have 1/10 of her courage through the best and worst of our own lives.

I have followed Paula Deen for years,watch all her programs,etc. Love her. She has the best sense of humor like myself love to laugh and this book I could not wait to read and I could not put it down. The way she never gave up and struggled and what she went through makes me think my life growing up was easy. She has been through some ordeals that I would of gave up on but she didnt. She raised two great sons and look it how everyone is doing just Great!! This book is a must read if you enjoy Paula and her sons. She is honest,direct and laugh out loud funny. Get this book once you start you will not want to put it down. What a read~

I first saw Paula Deen's show on the Food Network channel three years ago and it was a thrill! Having been raised by Southern parents and growing up with black eyed peas, pecan pie, fried catfish and lots of butter it was amazing to both see and hear her warm roots and cooking talent grace my television set. I just received her book in the mail today and didn't put it down until I finished it - it is a MUST READ.

Paula is both a blessing and inspiration on earth, she is candid, blunt, sometimes even downright ugly but truthful, warm and funny. You'll love her book so much you will be wanting to pass it on to your friends and family, please do there are even recipes included in the book.

This is the most refreshing and honest and yes, funny voice on the scene today. My wife and I enjoy Paula's cooking and her attitude but this memoir really brought the irrepressible woman right into our home. She's an inspiration and her words tell my daughter and my nieces that even an imperfect person can make it really big in this country. We love her earthy and even bawdy humor...which you don't hear on TV too much. I feel a movie coming on! This book is pure Paula and worth its weight---quadruple its weight--- in grits.

I throughly enjoyed this book & couldn't put it down until I had read the very last word, which took all of a day & a half. I also come from a Southern family & food is always the center of attention as well as the stories that go around the dinner table. I loved how she brought you to the table with her as though we were family. Everyone goes thru hard times & we learn from them, which is what made her a stronger person. I didn't think she was bawdy, just human & not all Southern women are prim & proper. I too have receipts (Southern spelling) passed down to me from my Grandmother, Mother & Aunts & make them often. Paule Deen is a wonderful lady & I'm a huge fan of hers whether she wrote a book or not!

As honest as Abe Lincoln and as comfortable as an old shoe---that's Paula Deen. Sometimes foul-mouthed, sometimes downright nasty, Paula is nothing if not herself, in all her false-eyelashed glory. This memoir is, by turns, heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny. It paints a portrait of a fiercely loving woman who reached down inside herself to find the strength to overcome her painful psychological illness. The only distraction from this tasty morsel is that the attempt to capture Paula's wonderful dialect on the printed page seems highly contrived and artificial. Whose fault could that be? Surely not Paula's!

My mother-in-law read this book and liked it so I checked it out of the library. Paula wrote I imagine a cathartic book for her - she confesses it all from fornication to adultery to cockroaches in her house (I'm sure her publisher encouraged her with the "sex sells" line). She sprinkles in lots of curse words, but she at least warns the reader in the Forward. I mainly read it because I was curious about her agoraphobia and how she got over it. That part of the story I related to and am glad that she was willing to share it. She devotes time to how to start a restaurant business, how she got her Food Network show, her experience with Jimmy Carter and her experience in a Hollywood Movie. She certainly has personality and works hard and has had some luck being in the right place at the right time. She's a showman at heart who loves to be in the limelight. There are lots of recipes included - they sound good, but I can't digest her kind of food. Bummer.