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“A mesmerizing memoir . . . Reichert weaves a rich narrativetapestry that traces her journey toward self-knowledge inluminous prose. Nimble and nourishing, this is not to be missed.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)
"Beautifully written . . . heartbreaking and hopeful." —Ruth Reichl, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Novel
An “absolutely transformative” (People) culinary memoir about the relationship between food and family—sustenance and survival—from a chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
When you’re raised by someone who once survived on potato peels and coffee grounds, you develop a pretty healthy respect for food.
Bonny Reichert avoided everything to do with the Holocaust until she found herself, in midlife, suddenly typing those words into an article she was writing. The journalist had grown up hearing stories about her father’s near-starvation and ultimate survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau, but she never imagined she would be able to face this epic legacy head-on.
Then a chance encounter with a perfect bowl of borscht in Warsaw set Bonny on a journey to unearth her culinary lineage, and she began to dig for the roots of her food obsession, dish by dish. Stepping into the kitchen to connect her past with her future, the author recounts the defining moments of her life in a poignant tale of scarcity and plenty: her colorful childhood in the restaurant business, the crumbling of her first marriage and the intensity of young motherhood, her decision to become a chef, and that life-altering visit to Poland. Whether it’s the flaky potato knishes and molasses porridge bread she learned to bake at her baba Sarah’s elbow, the creamy vichyssoise she taught herself to cook in her tiny student apartment, or the brown butter eggs her father, now 94, still scrambles for her whenever she needs comfort, cuisine is both an anchor and an identity; a source of joy and a signifier of survival.
How to Share an Egg is a journey of deep flavors and surprising contrasts. By turns sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, this is one woman’s search to find her voice as a writer, chef, mother, and daughter.
Wonderful and important book!
"This book is so much more than I expected it to be. I had to actually read it twice, as I found it incredibly healing and the kind of storytelling you want to go back to and re-read. I would highly recommend it. It's a quick read. Written beautifully in an almost poetic way, which is not typically how people write about food and difficult subjects like the Holocaust. Buy it and read it - you'll be glad you did!"
