Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist (Book Review)

 I toted this delicious little number along with me on my family vacation this year, and I am pretty sure everybody is reading it, wants to read it, or should read it. ASAP. Bread and Wine – A love letter to life around the table with recipes by Shauna Niequist is a book you will want to keep in the kitchen. Or by your bedside. Or in the Living Room. Definitely take it to the beach and along on your next vacation. But be prepared. It will change you. It will make you brave. This is the first time I have read this author but she has a wonderful writing style that is both candid and refreshing.

The book is broken up into four main parts and include a collection of vignettes which end with a recipe (most times). The combination of heartfelt storytelling, fellowship memories and fabulously detailed food, stirs the soul as well as the appetite. My mouth waters as I leaf through the pages. The connections Shauna makes with memories, food, people and life around the table, as she calls it- will leave you desiring to cook, fling open your doors and throw caution to the wind. This book is dangerous-in a good way.

She shares bits of her life along the way, with lessons, challenging us to live a little more freely by shedding our tendencies to wait for perfect timing, circumstances and dwelling spaces. She longs for us to share it all with those God has in our lives and savor each moment to the fullest. The food, people and places -the tender times, painful times of our lives all combine to create a pot of precious memories. Shauna brings these delights together somehow and has shared beautifully, everything from painful losses to celebratory vacations and more.

Both the stories and recipes shared are written in a way that feel Shauna is talking to you right from across the table or side by side at the counter. Also included is a four week book club/cooking club discussion guide.

I’m hungry as I write this review…
I ‘d give this read 5 Stars or bars…of chocolate. Melted, drizzled over um, say
shortbread with a side of espresso. Or maybe I could whip up some Gaia Cookies! Join me?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.