Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch

by Erin French

Book Overview

**New York Times Bestseller**

From Erin French, owner of the critically acclaimed The Lost Kitchen, a TIME world dining destination, a life-affirming memoir about survival, renewal, and finding a community to lift her up

Long before The Lost Kitchen became a world dining destination with every seating filled the day the reservation book opens each spring, Erin French was a girl roaming barefoot on a 25-acre...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250312345
• ISBN13: 9781250312341
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Celadon Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Food and love

I loved this book. It is very well written and keeps you reading. I am looking forward to getting the cookbooks about Erin. She is a strong woman and I am so glad she followed her heart. This is a great read for food lovers and anyone who has experienced the joy of a well made and presented meal.

Heartwarming and Heartbreaking

Finding Freedom follows world-famous chef Erin French through the journey that eventually led her to open The Lost Kitchen. The memoir opens with a pregnant Erin working in her father’s diner in her hometown of Freedom, Maine. From there she chronologically works her way through her twenties and thirties, where she gets married, raises her son, opens her first restaurant, battles addiction, and so much more. 
 At times heartwarming and others heartbreaking, Finding Freedom is a gorgeous memoir about a woman who rebuilt her life from the bottom up when it didn't turn out the way she originally planned. While raising a son, she does whatever it takes to keep her family afloat, pivoting from a pre-med track to the restaurant world, all while dreaming of opening her own restaurant.
 I felt so many different emotions while reading this story. I came to care so deeply about these people. I loved how so many parts of the book read like a love letter to her mother. So many of the sections about how French’s mother Deanna was her biggest advocate and fiercest cheerleader brought me to tears. At the same time, I love how refreshingly honest she was about the family members who have disappointed her over the years, namely her ex-husband, father, and sister. 
 I always struggle when reviewing memoirs. There's something that feels so deeply strange to critique someone’s life story. But in the case of Finding Freedom, I feel like I can confidently attest to how wonderful of a story it is.
 Thank you to Celadon Books for the review copy. All opinions are my own.