Made From Scratch: A Memoir (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This powerful, emotional, and astonishing story will inspire anyone who has faced adversity to overcome challenges and persevere. Sandra’s candid account of her personal journey offers a rare glimpse into the life of the woman behind the phenomenal success of Semi-Homemade. Smart, witty, and moving, Made From Scratch is an uplifting tale of determination and survival. Sandra is stunningly open about her abusive childhood and the responsibility thrust upon her at an early age to be the caretaker of her family.

Through a series of tragedies and challenges, she painfully discovered that we are all responsible for the choices we make in life. With the guidance of her grandmother, Sandra learned to be a self-sufficient and independent woman. After moving to Wisconsin at 15 to live with her father, an unexpected tragedy and the fallout from his mistakes required her to get her own apartment while still in high school. At 21, Sandra moved to Los Angeles, where she found tremendous success, launching her first product line, Kurtain Kraft. Working with the gritty resolve and make-do skills she learned as a child, she became a millionaire by the time she was 25, only to lose her fortune before the age of 30 and have to start all over again. Sandra started Semi-Homemade, smarter and wiser from her past mistakes, and has never looked back.

Now dedicated to helping others through various charities and foundations, Sandra is committed to aiding and inspiring people to reach their dreams. Her unforgettable story will show that if she can do it, you can too. Made From Scratch will make you laugh, cry, think, and embrace the grace and glory in every day. Sometimes feisty but always sincere, Made From Scratch has all of the ingredients that make up the recipe of a courageous life and remarkable success.

Written by:

Sandra Lee is a lifestyle expert and a New York Times and Amazon.com best-selling author. With 13 books to her credit, she is the host of a top-rated TV show, Semi-Homemade Cooking, on the Food Network. Sandra resides in Los Angeles and New York City.

Laura Morton is the author of 30 books, eight of which are New York Times best sellers, including The Truth Is, Melissa Etheridge’s memoir; Bringing Elizabeth Home, the Elizabeth Smart story; and Healthy Living, Joan Lunden’s personal journey. Laura lives in New York.

From the Inside Flap

The true story of how celebrity chef Sandra Lee went from being raised on food stamps to starring in her own TV show, Semi-Homemade Cooking, on the Food Network.

This powerful, emotional, and astonishing story will inspire anyone who has faced adversity to overcome challenges and persevere. Sandra’s candid account of her personal journey offers a rare glimpse into the life of the woman behind the phenomenal success of Semi-Homemade. Smart, witty, and moving, Made From Scratch is an uplifting tale of determination and survival. Sandra is stunningly open about her abusive childhood and the responsibility thrust upon her at an early age to be the caretaker of her family.

Through a series of tragedies and challenges, she painfully discovered that we are all responsible for the choices we make in life. With the guidance of her grandmother, Sandra learned to be a self-sufficient and independent woman. After moving to Wisconsin at 15 to live with her father, an unexpected tragedy and the fallout from his mistakes required her to get her own apartment while still in high school. At 21, Sandra moved to Los Angeles, where she found tremendous success, launching her first product line, Kurtain Kraft. Working with the gritty resolve and make-do skills she learned as a child, she became a millionaire by the time she was 25, only to lose her fortune before the age of 30 and have to start all over again. Sandra started Semi-Homemade, smarter and wiser from her past mistakes, and has never looked back.

Now dedicated to helping others through various charities and foundations, Sandra is committed to aiding and inspiring people to reach their dreams. Her unforgettable story will show that if she can do it, you can too. Made From Scratch will make you laugh, cry, think, and embrace the grace and glory in every day. Sometimes feisty but always sincere, Made From Scratch has all of the ingredients that make up the recipe of a courageous life and remarkable success.

Written by:

Sandra Lee is a lifestyle expert and a New York Times and Amazon.com best-selling author. With 13 books to her credit, she is the host of a top-rated TV show, Semi-Homemade Cooking, on the Food Network. Sandra resides in Los Angeles and New York City.

Laura Morton is the author of 30 books, eight of which are New York Times best sellers, including The Truth Is, Melissa Etheridge’s memoir; Bringing Elizabeth Home, the Elizabeth Smart story; and Healthy Living, Joan Lunden’s personal journey. Laura lives in New York.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Meredith Books; First Edition edition (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696239191
• ISBN-13: 978-0696239199
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Noteworthy Content but Grammatical nightmare, November 30, 2007

By	Aysia (La Habra Heights, CA) - See all my reviews

I read the book in about five hours. It started out rough with very little literary quality to the book. Within the first ten pages, I had found many grammatical errors. As the book progressed, I could empathize with her the hardships she lived through in basically raising her siblings. However, I found it odd that she didn't seem to be too concerned about her siblings once she moved to Wisconsin and through her adult years. Parts of the book did not seem very credible or maybe just a little too embellished.

My biggest difficulity in reading this book was the many grammatical errors. I kept getting distracted by them and even irritated. The book was also so full of cliches that I found the writing very mediocre.

At the end of the book, I realized that the book had been written in six weeks. They started in May and by the middle of November, they were on bookshelves. It seems like lightening speed to write and publish a book in six months. Although an editorial team and a writer was involved in this book, the book appeared to be more of a rough draft. I would question what they did in getting this book ready for publishing! The book stated that the writer had also written Melissa Ethridge's book. If so, I would be extremely embarrassed. I believe the publisher did not do the book justice. It seems like they were more interested in getting a book published before Christmas then the quality of the book.

I have never read a published book with so many basic grammatical errors and such poor writing.

Sandra Lee did attain success through plain hard work, and I admire her for that; however, the writing of this book would not be one of her top successes.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bland Cooking, March 1, 2008

By	Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (Seabrook, Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I have the audio presentation of this book and was amazed after I heard her story. Just NOT with the narrator. It seems a bland dish when transfered to the audio medium

I am NOT a big fan of Sandra Lee and her semi Homemade show on the Food Network. On Television, She seemed a bit too ritzy in her style and delivery of her show. I am a big fan of Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay and Paula Dean...all seem down to earth in their TV presentations. However Ms Lee's TV presenation seem too nice like she was hiding something. Note the camera never lies!

And neither does the audio microhone...In listening to her audio presenation narrated by her, I was right and she was hiding something...a lot of pain in growing on which is presenated here. She came from an abusive mother and unloving father. She had to raise her sisters and brothers, since her mother suffered Mental Illness. In the beginning, she and her sister was raised by a loving Grandmother who was both a mentor and a loving parent figure. It is a wonder how she survived the way she did. She took her life and became a successful businesswoman.

Now the bad point, Sandra Lee may be a good on air chef, but she lacks a strong audio voice needed to relay this story to audio. Her voice lacks emotions verbal content, basicly it seems bland and tasteless.

However when she does emote the text, it recants of her grandmother's death and funeral. It is an amazing story she unravels, but she seem not narrate well into her own life story. Something that seems so inspirational comes out with low impact.

I will say this, she should have pushed her over-the-top TV persona onto the audio medium...and she didn't!

I rate this four stars because of the intriging content. I hope it does inspire many abused women and children to grow and succeed like she did

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Left me a little hungry, December 2, 2007

By	SNG (Chicago) - See all my reviews

I understand why the reviews on this book are so divergent - Sandra Lee's life story is pretty remarkable and inspirational (worthy of a high rating), but the book itself is poorly written (deserving of a low rating). Made from Scratch was a quick read for me, and it seemed like it was written quickly too (confirmed by Lee towards the end, when she mentions that her publisher gave her 6 weeks to write the book).

The book is no more than a cursory overview of her life, but interesting at that. For example, Lee spends about 61 written pages covering the first 18 years of her life. The brevity with which she covers each phase or facet of her life is both a blessing and a curse - it is a fast read, but often lacks key details or explanations. The failure of her first business, for instance, was "explained" in literally one paragraph.

Also, each chapter of the book tends to focus on only one aspect of Lee's life at a time. So if a particular chapter was devoted to her business, then there were few details, if any, about her family/personal life at that time. Those details were rarely fleshed out later. I found myself wondering where Lee's parents and siblings were at certain points of her success. And I questioned why Lee's beloved grandmother moved from L.A. to Phoenix when Lee moved back to L.A. But the book didn't provide answers.

I like Sandra Lee, and she seems well-intentioned. Many parts of her life story are instructive. For these reasons, I give the book 3/3.5 stars overall.