Stir: Overall Review

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home

A Review by a Not Very Good Reviewer, but a Very Good Reader

(that's me)

Stir is a decent memoir, one that shouldn't really make sense but does. Jessica uses her passion, her history and her easy to digest voice to create a story that makes you want to keep reading.

Food is the great connector, the one thing that draws everyone to the table, regardless of religious differences or background.  Pairing her story of medical disaster and long road to recovery with recipes from her childhood or those that invoked specific feelings or memories makes sense. Sharing the table with the author throughout her journey are friends, family members and those just passing by who all had an impact on her regaining strength and readjusting to 'life after'.

Jessica's past is recalled through eloquent, sentimental descriptions of meals shared, meals made, bread broken.  I was concerned when I started the book that the inclusion of the recipes at the end of the chapters would feel forced, that maybe deep down the author really wanted to write a cookbook or just promote the blog, but the more I read, the less this was an issue. Jessica appreciates and understands the meaning of food, and it flows nicely along with the story of her recovery.

Nor does Jessica play the 'woe is me' card, which, in her situation, I almost wouldn't blame her for.  Her voice is honest about what happened to her and how she felt during those times - additional surgeries, infections - where it must of felt most bleak.  She doesn't deny the difficulty, but the way the memoir is written doesn't ask you for sympathy. Instead, you are right there with her, empathetic, wanting to understand.

This book created a lot of 'I get that!' moments for me, enough so my brain would wander to similar situations in my own life, times of trial or great success. Stories that parallel the author's experiences. Ultimately, I want a book that makes me so lost in another world or that creates those feelings of closeness and understanding.  This is definitely the latter, and it does an excellent job at it.

(*note: this book was received digitally via netgalley for free.)