If Julia Child had cooked Italian for a gay husband, used sugar to sweeten a sour childhood, and hosted buffets for a better world, she could have written Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen. In this food memoir, Judith Newton shares the unforgettable story of a life on the front lines of activism and in the kitchen. Having discovered during a difficult childhood that food and cooking were sources of comfort and emotional sustenance, in the decades to come, through her marriage to a gay man, her discovery of feminism, her life in a commune, and  her career in a university she learned how deeply food is tied to  identity, love, community, and political engagement. By turns moving, joyful, thoughtful, and wry Tasting Home takes us on a remarkable journey through the cuisines and cultural politics of the 1940s through the 2000s complete with recipes. If you loved Like Water for Chocolate,  you should try Tasting Home. See an essay based on this book, "A Valentine for My Gay Ex-Husband," at Huffington Post Judith Newton.