SPOILER ALERT: It took me two failed starts before I finished this lovely book, sweet with memories, filled with sorrow, and gentle with family and love. For reasons I am unsure, the book was not at all what I expected, but it didn’t fail me. It is likely my personal health issues that cause any falter I have with the book, not the book itself.

I would recommend this title, you won’t cry, it’s not sad in that way, but you will be filled with numerous emotions as you travel through this woman’s and her child’s life after loss, the fact that it centers around food and Sicily is an added a bonus.

I appreciate most the raw emotion Ms. Locke expresses about being a wife, a mother, a daughter, an unaccepted daughter-in-law. She is honest and forthright - no one gets a pass, but she is not degrading. The fact that the story comes together and is not fiction, is the perfect ending. ( )

I almost bailed on this one but I'm glad I stuck it out, it was so interesting to learn about Sicily and how it too was apart of her story and their deep love ( )

A raw story about love, life, and death. I’m not sure if there was a final message. It was sad, though. ( )

I think I just spent my whole afternoon crying — tears of grief, tears of joy. Thanks for the ride. ( )

(I am using this book for my "Book Set Somewhere I Have Never Been" category of Extreme Book Nerd.)

I felt such a connection to this book. My Nana is Sicilian. Now she never really talked about her heritage that much. She kind of hated cooking Italian food. But still....."From Scratch" took me back to my ancestral home. I long to one day visit the Mediterranean. Nana talked about one day wanting to go to Italy and Vatican City (to see the Pope) and she'd take me. Nana never did that trip, but one day, maybe I will do it for her.

The story "From Scratch" is about Tembi Locke and her journey of love. Finding it in the Sicilian chef, Saro. Adopting their daughter. Remaining committed as cancer tears Saro's body apart. Families coming together. Embracing a culture. And finding how food is a universal language no matter what.

Food speaks to me on so many levels. And it is what highlights so many memories of my Nana. Nana was the one who taught me to make mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving (ones that did not come from a box.) I remember her making eclairs....and then my dog, Nikki, stealing one, eating it, and getting pancreatitis as a result. Nana taught me how to make gnocchi and cannoli. And she pronounces "ricotta" in one of the most unique ways I have ever heard. It was food that helped me through Nana's passing....just as food was what helped Tembi.

In the time leading up to Nana's death, I made spaghetti sauce. Granted, I don't recall her ever making it. Still, I was in the kitchen, cooking something Italian, and pouring all my love and grief into that pot. Nana was the one who gave me my cookware as a wedding present. Then, when Mom and Dad were gone for the funeral, my brother and I made gnocchi and cannoli as a way to honor her. Neither turned out that day. The gnocchi was too fim; the cannoli was burnt. Still, we were thinking of Nana, grieving as we only could.

"From Scratch" gets a high rating from me because of it hitting so close to home. There were parts I didn't care so much about. But it was a love letter to a culture that became to mean so much to her. THAT was why I enjoyed it so much.

One day I'll go explore Italy and Sicily. I just know it. ( )