Stir

Pairing food with the nightmare of surviving a brain aneurysm shouldn't work--but under Jessica Fechtor's wise and wonderful narration, the pairing not only works, it shines. --Susannah Cahalan, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Brain on Fire Jessica Fechtor writes with remarkable lucidity, courage, and grace about the darkest and brightest moments a person can know. Stir will feed you, even after the last page is turned. --Molly Wizenberg, creator of Orangette and author of the New York Times bestseller A Homemade Life Utterly captivating, engrossing, un-put-down-ably, terrifyingly magnificent. In a world filled with dross, Stir is breathtaking. --Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man's Feast Written with the flare of a novelist and the precision of an academic, Stir is a brave, beautiful narrative of illness and recovery. But it is not only that. It is a meditation on food and the kitchen, what it means to cook, and how the choices we make at the table can define who we are - and who we want to be. --Molly Birnbaum, author of Season to Taste Fechtor's gentle lyricism cannot hide her fierce determination not only to survive, but to flourish. --Luisa Weiss, creator of The Wednesday Chef and author of My Berlin Kitchen Stir is a beautiful, sometimes sad, often heart-lifting story of putting back together what has fallen apart. It is a poignant reminder of how inexorably tied our hearts and minds are to our stomachs, and what a blessing that can be. --Tamar Adler, author of An Everlasting Meal Though Stir winds us through Ms. Fechtor's illness, its complications and ultimately her recovery, this book isn't a tale of sickness and health. And though it is filled with inviting concoctions...it isn't merely a book about food and how to make it. Rather, it's a recipe for living a life of meaning and an homage to the people in her life who nourished her. --Wall Street Journal An inspiring journey, with recipes. With a novelist's touch, Fechtor chronicles her recovery from a brain aneurysm that hit her as a Harvard graduate student at 28, sending her life on a far different path than she had imagined. --Seattle Times Charmingly peppered with personal recipes, [STIR] thoroughly inspired readers and immersed them in Fechtor's life against all odds. --Elle Jessica Fechtor blends the story of her near-fatal brain aneurysm with recipes as if it's a natural combination. And for someone with her optimism and modesty, it is. A feel good memoir. --Shelf Awareness Beautiful --Pyschcentral.com With warmth, humor and clarity, she explains in Stir how cooking helped her to reclaim her life. --Columbus Dispatch Reading the book, I was compelled to reach for a pen every few pages, to underline things I didn't want to forget -- things I had to remember. --The Forward Fechtor writes beautifully and is a warm, gracious guide through her own landscape of illness. Fechtor skillfully combines the sequence of events, memories of her earlier life, and her adventures in the kitchen. --Jewish Week