How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty

Debut author Bonny Reichert is no stranger to writing, as an award-winning journalist who has long written about food and parenting. How to Share an Egg is a deeply moving memoir about growing up with a father who survived the Holocaust and lost nearly everything (family, heritage, health, belongings) in the process. When he immigrated to Canada after the war, he brought with him food and memories. When your father barely survived on scraps during a mass extermination, you learn to have an appreciation for all food. As Bonny grew into adulthood, her father told her more and more about his experiences in the ghetto and extermination camps; it haunted her and she suffered generational trauma. Until she was in her forties, she avoided show more anything to do with the horrors of the Holocaust. This memoir is not only her father’s story, but a moving look at her life and the food that helped define her. She grew up on rich Polish food and but branched out as she taught herself to cook food from cookbooks and eventually went to culinary school. Narrated beautifully by the author herself, Bonny’s cadence and rhythm make this a calming and moving story to listen to and engage with. It’s a love story to her family, identity, and food. Verdict – not just foodies will eat up this memoir, this story has something for everyone. Extremely compelling. – Erin Cataldi show less

Beautiful exploration of generational trauma. I love how this weaves Bonny's story -- second generation immigrant to Canada, child of a Holocaust survivor and survivors from previous Pogroms -- with her Father's horrific experience. The way grief flows through and shows up unexpectedly. The way the loss of so much of the extended family is present in every room. The disconnect of living in a time and place of plenty, surrounded by love and food and fiercely protected by family with the shadow of the past ever present. This is powerful, and I also love how it is centered on food in so many ways -- it's the thing that ties everything together and makes the experience accessible and offers healing, in the end.

Eggs. We love them and they give us nourishment. From my first glance of the cover, it looked like a friendly book about cooking eggs. True, it’s about food and the enjoyment of cooking but there’s a lot more going on in this memoir. It quickly got my attention with a taste of reality.

The reader quickly learned from the start that one egg was shared between two starving Jewish boys during WWII in Poland. They were desperately trying to survive after five years of severe abuse and terror from the Nazis. One of the boys was Bonnie Reichert’s dad. After the war, he found a new life in Edmonton, Canada.

Bonnie’s dad encouraged her often to tell his story. The thought of what he endured gave her nightmares especially when she was show more young. But years later, she did an intense amount of research with international travels to Poland and Germany. She combined her dad’s story from the war with her own career path and passion for food.

Many of the short chapters started with something to eat. Bonnie learned early how to cook from her grandma and dad. It’s impossible to read this book on an empty stomach as she described mouth-watering dishes as she explored cooking as a career.

There have been numerous books about the preparation of food but a first to have a memoir that includes this dark part of history. Her dad was a strong survivor and his story is important and educates all of us.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of January 21, 2025. show less

An “absolutely transformative” (People) culinary memoir about the relationship between food and family—sustenance and survival—from a chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor.

women writes her father's experience through the war using culinary reminders and experiences