Getting all my Ducks in a Row: Muffins & Mayhem Review

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Muffins & Mayhem Review

This was a delicious read - not only because of all the recipes that were included and caused the author to reminiscence but also because it was one of those books that you just devour - I couldn't put it down. There were so many times throughout the book that I would just be reading along and nodding my head - as if the author could see me and know that I too have been there - done that.

A truely wonderful read from beginning to end. I can't wait to try out some of the wonderful recipes too! How cool is that - part book - part cookbook! :)

I was sent this book for the purpose of review. All opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.

Muffins and Mayhem is a ticket back home.

The Ingredients for Happiness

Reminiscences and Recipes for Rediscovering the

Small Town in Your Heart

Pull up a chair and dig into this delicious dish of confessions and reminiscences from an everyday person who had big dreams. In Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy – if Disorderly – Life (Touchstone; June 1, 2010), Suzanne Beecher, beloved creator of the hugely successful online book club DearReader.com, rediscovers her path to the present through a recipe box and opens her heart to her readers.

Raised in Cuba City, Wisconsin, boasting 2,000 people, with a firm appreciation for hard work, Suzanne recalls her own arduous childhood years followed by her evolution from single, drug addicted, teenage mother to successful businesswoman, mother, grandmother, and wife of her best friend – the man of her dreams. Tracing memories evoked by the recipes she loves to cook, Suzanne reassures us that with love and dedication even the most challenging obstacles will be overcome.

Muffins and Mayhem was inspired by a reader who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was wondering how to leave a legacy to her children. Suzanne suggested a recipe box filled with memories and family stories. Helping this reader turned out to be a gift to Suzanne as well, and she decided to share the stories and recipes that help keep her grounded in today’s unpredictable world.

Dished up with a healthy portion of hilarity; whether she’s ironing the clothing her mother deliberately froze solid, being the only girl in an auto mechanics course, or getting her pearl chandelier earring stuck between her teeth while driving, Suzanne’s personal tales remind us to take life lightly and enjoy our time with those we love.

So bake up some of Suzanne’s blueberry muffins, pour a tall glass of tea and take some time to savor the days when all food was slow food and people came together to enrich the quality of each other’s lives.