Cooking & Screaming: Finding My Own Recipe for Recovery

by Adrienne Kane

Pimsleur(r) equals success. Just one 30minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program. French Phase 2, Unit 27 builds on material taught in prior units. It includes 30... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416587977
• ISBN13: 9781416587972
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Cooking and Screaming - A Love Story

Cooking and Screaming - A Love Story I consider this book to be a love story. Kane touches the core and center of cooking - love for life. Her writing is neither pretentious nor sentimental about her life journey, considering what she went through in her young age. At 17 her successful businessman father suffered a stroke. At 21 she herself suffered a stroke just before her graduation from UC Berkeley. Those experiences are the blessings in disguise since she found what is important in her life and that helped her to create her own life in her own way. She learned the importance of empathy and compassion. What attracted me most is Kane's efforts not to yield to a poor-poor-pitiful-me attitude. She is feisty but not loud. This subtle but powerful book titled Cooking and Screaming fascinates me also knowing her meta-cognitive process during this journey. She addressed the notion that psychological struggle (frustration, humiliation, anger, misunderstanding, true or false pride, bruised ego, etc.) was more of a challenge than that of physical inconvenience. After dealing with those emotions, she chose not to dwell on them. Dragging those emotions (lamenting, sobbing, crying, blaming and complaining) endlessly is not her cup of tea. Furthermore, the life alternating experience when her father suffered from a stroke while she was in her teens gave her plenty of lessons and strength. She shifted her energy to focus on what she loves - her renewed interest and passion - Cooking! Her support network impressed me and touched my heart. Her faithful and caring boyfriend (now her husband), her loving family and her loyal and thoughtful close friends have demonstrated their genuine, authentic love and tremendous support and encouragement. She treasures it and keep on cooking for them and others. It's a brilliant idea to come up with this unique format of combining the introduction of several selected recipes out of thousands and related semi-biographical articles. It helps to avoid the possible monotonous and heavy tone that a traditional chronological and linear sequence of writing sometimes would bring. It appeals to the target readers living in the age of Blog and Twitter. Interestingly enough, this non-linear method in this book escapes from spiral, self-indulgent writing, but it is logical and lyrical. It has a rhythm between the lines as if we are listening to music. Serious matters are balanced out with plenty of humor and her unique cynicism. Her vivid description when it comes to food and cooking, the speed and rhythm evokes a jazzy dancing mood. It clearly shows her passion and love for cooking. Kane certainly spends more time on the things she loves than on excessive screaming. She is definitely not in denial. Rather she is very alert. She simply tries to enjoy her life. Her subtle but powerful book titled "Cooking and Screaming" is a love story and leaves us celebrating the resiliency of her life.

A Delectable Must-read!

After discovering an article recently printed in the Boston Globe highlighting Adrienne Kane's work, my dad purchased me a copy of her memoir, "Cooking and Screaming," knowing that I might be able to relate to her story. I just finished this truly inspiring book, and felt compelled to sing its praises in the hopes of spreading the word about this remarkable read. I know I've discovered a rare literary find when an author gives a voice to thoughts and feelings I myself have experienced, but failed to adequately verbalize. With an honest and approachable writing style, Kane invites readers into her life, and over to her kitchen table. I felt at home in the pages of her prose, and found myself yearning for more of her delicious recipes and heartwarming personal tales as I reached the final pages. Reading "Cooking and Screaming" felt almost therapeutic for me, and following Kane on her journey to recovery and self-discovery through the kitchen was encouraging, uplifting, and an absolute pleasure. I greatly admire Kane's unwavering courage and resilience in the face of adversity, but most of all, I admire her innate and infectious passion for food. Kane allows readers to live vicariously through her culinary adventures, and the format of utilizing recipes to launch each chapter was unique and refreshing. I simply devoured this fantastic book, and highly recommend it without reservation.

A tasty read

When I picked up Adrienne Kane's story of her recovery from a hemorrhagic stroke I could never have anticipated the incredibly fun read I was store for. Adrienne tells of her struggle with such honesty, depth and humor that I found myself sincerely laughing and suffering with her as she tells of the endless ways in which recovery turned her life upside down. Her prose are insightful and eye opening while remaining uniquely straightforward and accessible. Every insight and reflection that Adrienne shares with her readers is unexpected and throughout the story she never stops surprising you with her wit and her courage. Furthermore, this outlook is perfectly encapsulated in the recipes that accompany each chapter. She presents classic straightforward dishes each of which contain an element of the unexpected, a zest or unconventional ingredient that make them entirely new. Cooking and Screaming was simply the tastiest book I've read in ages.

A great read

I made the mistake of starting this book around midnight, intending to read a few pages before falling asleep. Next thing I know, it's the wee hours of the morning and I'm turning the last page--this is an impossible book to put down once you've begun. I love food memoirs and food essays mostly because the really good ones use eating and cooking as a window into a life. And Cooking and Screaming accomplishes just that. It's an inspiring story about an extraordinary experience, sure, but it's also a very universal one. And you don't often come across a story about loss and family and personal quest (very lofty subjects indeed) that is as disarmingly funny and subtle as this one. This is not a book that screams, despite the title; it's a quiet book to curl up with and read in one sitting on a rainy afternoon, but it will end up staying with you for much longer than that.

Perfect blend of poignancy and humor

While most college graduates ponder their future and dream of things they will learn and awesome new experiences, Adrienne Kane graduates from college pondering how she will re-learn to walk and do the mundane things of daily existence. Stricken with a stroke-type ailment weeks shy of her college graduation, Kane shares her touching personal experience of how she learned to deal with her "new" life, one very different than for what she had prepared. But this isn't a "woe is me" type story. Instead, the tale shares how Kane's spirit (along with the support of family and friends) guides her to adapt to her new challenges, and how an unfortunate illness actually helped discover her true identity and passion...cooking. This book has a "friendly" writing style. It isn't bogged down with medical details and jargon...it reads as if an old friend is telling you about their extraordinary experience. An extra bonus are Kane's recipes included in the book. This book would be a great read for any book club (the recipes in the book could be used for your book club dinner!) and the topics for conversation would be endless: "what would you do if life changed your menu?" type discussion. Highly recommended!!