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Review: Cherries In Winter Book

“Cherries in Winter: My Family’s Recipe for Hope in Hard Times” Book Review

When the opportunity came up to read “Cherries in Winter: My Family’s Recipe for Hope in Hard Times” I jumped at the chance. Afterall, it was Suzan Colon’s perspective on her family and their recipes…something I could relate to easily.

 
 
The Book:

Last fall, Suzan Colón was happily employed as an editor at a national women’s magazine. She wrote articles, took advantage of an eyebrow specialist who made office calls (and charged forty bucks per pluck), and splurged on sushi lunches without even thinking about it.

Then, like hundreds of thousands of her fellow Americans, Suzan was laid off during the recession. Luxuries she’d taken for granted, like shopping at pricey gourmet markets, getting expensive haircuts, and even owning a car were all suddenly out of her budget, and she and her husband Nathan quickly realized they had to cut way, way back.

When winter came, Suzan cobbled together freelance jobs while wearing layers of sweaters and trying to type in fingerless gloves, the better to keep the heating bill low. She also saved money by cooking at home, and her mother, Carolyn, suggested, “Why don’t you dig out Nana’s recipe folder?” In a basement trunk, Suzan found the tattered treasure holding the old recipes, some written in her Nana’s nearly perfect script, others meticulously type-written, that went back through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and beyond. Reading them, Suzan realized she had found something more than a collection of recipes; she’d discovered the key to her family’s survival through hard times.

About the Author:
Suzan Colón is an independent writer and editor who has written celebrity profiles, personal essays, and general interest articles for O, the Oprah Magazine; Marie Claire; Jane; Details; Harper’s Bazaar; Seventeen; YM; Mademoiselle; Rolling Stone; and others.

She is the author of three young adult novels based on the TV series Smallville, as well as Catwoman: The Life and Times of a Feline Fatale; and What Would Wonder Woman Do?

Suzan lives in New Jersey with her husband and two cats.

The book is  clever in it tells a story through the recipes taking us from the Great Depression right up to today’s unstable economic times. Through these stories told, recipes displayed, and life lessons learned, Suzan realizes this was how her family had gotten through some awful times.

From the beginning, Suzan relates that although her life had changed dramatically based on finances, she was never as bad off as some of them had been, or some people around her were right then.

It’s an easy and pleasant read at 200 pages. I read it within one day.

While I enjoyed the book, I found it, at times, difficult to relate to the author. She had no trouble dropping $20 for a sushi lunch and at one point, prior to her lay-off, her mom encourages her to buy a $600 coat.

“Cherries in Winter” made me think. It inspired me.

I have not tried any of the recipes though they tempt me now that I know the “history” behind them.

 

The featured product {s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone

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