Spilling the Beans [Paperback]

Clarissa Dickson Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2009

As a child, Clarissa Dickson Wright was surrounded by wealth and privilege. Her mother was an Australian heiress, her father a brilliant surgeon to the Royal family. But he was also a tyrannical and violent drunk who used to beat her and force her to eat rotten food. When her adored mother died suddenly, Clarissa fell into a mind-numbing decade of wild overindulgence that eventually cost her entire fortune. After a long, hard road to recovery, Clarissa finally faced her demons and turned to the one thing that had always brought her joy: cooking. Now at last she has found sobriety and peace, and her TV parternship with the beloved late Jennifer Paterson as the Two Fat Ladies brought her fame and success. With stark honesty and brilliant wit, this is Clarissa’s own story of a life lived to extremes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Witty, eye-popping life story."  —Traverse City Record-Eagle

"The autobiography of the year."  —Daily Mail

"Beautifully crafted."  —The Palm Beach Post

About the Author

Clarissa Dickson Wright is the author of five cookbooks, including The Game Cookbook, A Greener Life, and Sunday Roast.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (January 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340933895
• ISBN-13: 978-1444706413
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspirational Read and For fans of Two Fat Ladies, November 24, 2008

By 

Suzanne E. Anderson "Author of Mrs. Tuesday's... (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spilling the Beans (Paperback)

If you were a fan of 'Two Fat Ladies', are an Anglo-phile, or need an inspirational and funny read, this is your book. I spent the weekend devouring this memoir and enjoying every page. Clarissa writes with honesty and candor about her early life with an alcoholic and violent parent, her brilliant legal career, a devastating love life and loss, her despair and descent into alcoholism and her slow but steady rise to fame afterwards.

Though she may have been born with every advantage, she lost it all, money, friends, home, career, and ultimately through courage and hard work became a self-made woman and rose to fame in the short-lived, but much loved cooking show, "Two Fat Ladies".

A very enjoyable read.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've always been a fan but now I have such deep respect for her., May 2, 2008

By 

Sharon Bussey "aka Dolce" (Farmington Hills, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spilling the Beans (Audio CD)

I've enjoyed the author as a TV cook, her humor and style as one of the Two Fat Ladies was delightful. I own many of her books and have enjoyed both the cookbooks and the country books. This book about her life was a suprise to me as I had no clue she was from an abusive home. I have such respect for her. In this age of whiny delicate little flowers (BLECCH!) I admire her strength of character and ability to be thankful for her life, accepting both good and bad with dignity and grace.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing autobiography..., April 27, 2008

By 

P. Chan (Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spilling the Beans (Hardcover)

Hilarious, frightening, shocking, exciting, and always readable, Clarissa Dickson Wright's autobiography depicts her rollercoaster of a life in a compelling but always sympathetic manner. One of the best memoirs in recent memory.