I think I would have enjoyed this far more if it had been one of two things. Either just about the food, or a chronicle a relationship that develops between two different people. If it was going to be a chronicle of the relationship, I actually think the story would have been far more interesting if it had been written by both Klinec and her husband.

Meno means good, min means grain or seeds. Menominee is a native American tribe of the USA. These Native Americans are surely not only Good Seeds, - like also the title of this book - but part of the Woods.

I don't know you but everytime I read a book written by a Native American in this particular case by Thomas Pecore Weso and published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press my sensation is the one to read a magical book. Surely an absorbing and enchanting reading.

Mr. Weso loves in this book to remember the glorious past of his tribe and his family and I find it fascinating, because it is a trip in his personal story and the one of his family through food. For of course not forgetting and always remembering what it means the past and what it became his reality going on.

He describes a very big family, with a big tradition for....eating more or less as he specifies in various part of the books, all the possible food existing on Earth thanks to the connection her grand mom had established with the Catholic church of his town.
She attended it and so to her canning food, using diversified food, not a problem at all.

But Menominee are also famous for being great Bear Hunters in particular the men of his family and every year remember Weso they organize a big lunch all dedicate at this special meat.

Menominee loves also fishing, and every sorta of other hunting. No one of course hunt for killing but for bringing food on the table so in the past it was a primary necessity for men.
Of course herbs and fruits, like apples but also many many other kind of fruits of interests for this family during the proper seasonal period.

Every chapter Weso remembers some anecdotes of his past. It can be his beautiful moments spent in the family with his granny, it can be the hunting of the bear, or fishing, - better a big fish than not a small ones, he writes at some point because the family big and so... -
At the end of every chapter you will find delicious recipes that you are more than invited of trying for preparing delicious meals.

A chapter I loved the one of maple syrup. I adore maple syrup! I drink it with water it's the only way I use it I confess but I love also to explore the most diversified utilization in the American culture.

I also love the description of the customs of Weso's Native American tribe. I find most of them suggestive, from their religion, - Thomas' grand dad allergic to embracing any kind of other religion apart the Native American one (he was different from his wife but I love to remark he left her wife free to enjoy our religion), superlative, and plus he was a medicine man so it says a lot -, to their living, their days, their traditions, their food.

I know that if I will visit one day the USA I would want to stop by for lunch at the house of Thomas Weso family because I am more than sure that I could eat a good American lunch for sure!

Go for this book if you love to remember the past, as Weso adores to do with great joy and passion and if you want to understand much more the life, compassion and great heart of the Native American tribe of the Menominee that, I discovered thanks to this book.

This book, I am more than sure will enchant you from the first page for its purity, sincerity, story-teller structure and because it is written with the heart and with the desire of leaving an imprint and a good memory in the History, and culinary traditions of this big country: the USA.


For sure this one can be also a perfect gift for Christmas or for a birthday for your children and for let them understands the story and local culture.


The cover: yes, it's beauty but I would have picked up another picture, because to me this one is not strong and happy enough for describing the content of the book.




I thank Netgalley for this book!

 

Food memoirs are generally not my cup of tea. I’m not a foodie or all that interested in cooking; I read this to fulfill part of a reading challenge. While I wouldn’t consider this on par with favorite graphic novel memoirs like Persepolis or Fun Home, it was an enjoyable little trip into a genre I generally don’t think about much.

 

Taste, like smell, is a powerfully associative sense. Certain flavors can conjure very strong memories and can be particularly nostalgic. I’ve never been terribly concerned about food, but I do have strong memories associated with certain tastes, so I can understand the impulse to use it as a method of memory conjuring. Lucy Knisley builds her entire book around this sort of nostalgia and the comfort associated with it, using food as the central element around which she centers experience and personal milestones. She also builds a strong case for the appreciation of food and how it can be an important part of life when it is treated with respect and care rather than as simply a necessity. I share this philosophy in theory, but not much in practice, since eating with care takes money and time that isn’t always available to everyone.

 

Knisley comes from a foodie family and has snob credentials (thankfully sans the attitude that often comes with them). While she is open about her love of occasional fast food and junk food, it is an indulgence and not an unfortunate necessity as it can be for some, so there are some limits on her perspective. The art is lively and expressive, the colors particularly vibrant; it is extremely polished work, and she imbues it with a lot of personality. She also incorporates illustrated recipes as interstitials throughout the story, which will be great for people really interested in cooking. As I am not one of those people, I skimmed or skipped them entirely, though I may go back to them someday, on one of those rare occasions when I feel like cooking something that doesn’t involve a microwave.

 

I took on a reading challenge this year to force myself to try new things. Will the food memoir now be a personal genre staple thanks to the influence of Relish? Honestly: no. This was cute, but as it was about a combination of subjects I don’t care much about (food and the lives of middle class twenty-somethings), I’m not too worried about revisiting the genre anytime soon. Memoirs like this tend to come from and appeal to a certain demographic that doesn’t really include me. I do enjoy Knisley’s style and sense of humor, so perhaps I’ll keep my eye out for her other books and see if I can connect better with less food-oriented storytelling.

 

 

 

A few images from Relish:

 

 

 

From its captivating and unusual cover depicting delicious foods (from doughnuts to pizza) dangling on meat hooks to its unusual vantage point (from a psychotherapist's chair), it's evident that Binge Crazy:  A Psychotherapist’s Memoir of Food Addiction, Mental Illness, Obesity and Recovery excels not in the usual survivor's perspective, but comes from a therapist's astute observations.

 

Crack the cover of Binge Crazy to discover that there is more than autobiography, here: and given that eating disorders are notoriously difficult to address and extremely tenacious, it's refreshing to see a set of insights about which approaches do and don't work in the treatment process.

 

Registered Psychotherapist Natalie Gold is no stranger to the experience, herself: she spent years struggling with binge eating and weaves her autobiography into the wider story of how she not only emerged victorious from a potentially fatal disorder, but created an effective recovery approach for others, as well.

 

By the time she was twenty-one she 'escaped' her life and self-destructive actions by entering a mental hospital. Decades later she's back to reveal her difficult path to recovery and outline the programs and routines that truly made a difference for her.

 

Binge Crazy is highly recommended for any who struggle with obesity or other eating disorders, and offers concrete ideas for addressing a problem that many similar books can only document. Its blend of autobiography and insights wraps all this in a cloak of personal experience that invites both binge eaters and their loved ones to read, relate, and understand the confusion surrounding losing weight, self-image, and family interactions.