Be Ready When the Luck Happened by Ina Garten

 

"One thing I learned, and continue to learn every day, is that the food we enjoy most connects to our deepest memories of when we felt happy, comfortable, nurtured. It could be something from childhood.... or a taste that somehow made us feel good, even if we didn't know why."           -from the memoir

I doubt I would have chosen to read this book on my own but because it was the May selection for Page Turners, I did read it. I found it interesting and somewhat inspiring but not really a page turner. I've rated it a 3.

I was familiar with Ina Garten from having seen a few airings of her "Barefoot Contessa" on TV. In the memoir I learned how this nickname came about when, feeling stymied in her government job, she spotted an ad for the sale of a "Catering, Gourmet Foods, and Cheese Shoppe" called Barefoot Contessa in Westhampton. It seems she found her niche and never really looked back.

After expanding her business, she wrote cookbooks, had a TV series on Food Network and even hosted a talk show. As a person who had a rather sad childhood with no encouragement and almost no affection, she rose to great heights in her chosen career. Plus, she and her husband Jeffrey have a lasting marriage which has supported them both.

In her memoir, Ms. Garten shares many things she has learned over the years including the importance of collaboration, being true to oneself and one's goals, not dwelling on the past and she writes "a barrier to me isn't a stop sign; it's a call to action."