Author: Valerie Bertinelli
Published: January 18th 2022 by Mariner Books
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Genre: Mid-Life Crisis
First Sentence: About a year ago, after an online cooking demonstration, a friend of a friend reached out to me about a difficult situation.
Blurb: Valerie Bertinelli shares an inspiring blueprint that offers women in midlife support and hope. She shares personal stories that many women will relate to from her past decade: hitting her fifties, taking care of her dying mother, the evolving relationship with her husband, a career change, her relationship with food, and the battle to believe in herself as she is.
Despite her success receiving Emmys for her Food Network show and critical praise for her books and cookbook, Bertinelli still judged herself harshly if she gained a pound or showed too many wrinkles. But after her mother died, she found an old recipe box with notes of the strong women that came before her, reminding her that she has to find out who she is and take care of herself. Saying, “enough already!” Bertinelli set out on a journey to love herself and see that perfection is not the goal; it’s the joy we can find every day in our lives, our loved ones, and the food we share. Recipes and advice will be sprinkled throughout the book.(GoodReads)
My Opinion: Repetitive words of encouragement. Repetitive sections of self-doubt. Repetitive passages of body image. It will be up to the reader regarding what they want to listen to and when they want to tune out. When you want to cheer her on and when you want to repeat after her "Enough Already".
Valerie Bertinelli is an actress I have grown up with -- Her shows bring back memories, her movies are familiar, and her cooking shows are drool-worthy. Yet, until I came across this book, I never thought about the person behind the screen. It was strange for me to read how normal she is. How unexpected her ex-husband was and how relatable her everyday struggles continue to be.
By the end, the book was cathartic—but I do not know for which one of us.
Blurb: Valerie Bertinelli shares an inspiring blueprint that offers women in midlife support and hope. She shares personal stories that many women will relate to from her past decade: hitting her fifties, taking care of her dying mother, the evolving relationship with her husband, a career change, her relationship with food, and the battle to believe in herself as she is.
Despite her success receiving Emmys for her Food Network show and critical praise for her books and cookbook, Bertinelli still judged herself harshly if she gained a pound or showed too many wrinkles. But after her mother died, she found an old recipe box with notes of the strong women that came before her, reminding her that she has to find out who she is and take care of herself. Saying, “enough already!” Bertinelli set out on a journey to love herself and see that perfection is not the goal; it’s the joy we can find every day in our lives, our loved ones, and the food we share. Recipes and advice will be sprinkled throughout the book.(GoodReads)
My Opinion: Repetitive words of encouragement. Repetitive sections of self-doubt. Repetitive passages of body image. It will be up to the reader regarding what they want to listen to and when they want to tune out. When you want to cheer her on and when you want to repeat after her "Enough Already".
Valerie Bertinelli is an actress I have grown up with -- Her shows bring back memories, her movies are familiar, and her cooking shows are drool-worthy. Yet, until I came across this book, I never thought about the person behind the screen. It was strange for me to read how normal she is. How unexpected her ex-husband was and how relatable her everyday struggles continue to be.
By the end, the book was cathartic—but I do not know for which one of us.
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