From Scratch, Tembi Locke
From Scratch, Tembi Locke
32 Rating(s)
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

From Scratch
A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

Bestseller

Author: Tembi Locke

Narrator: Tembi Locke

Unabridged: 10 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/30/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A 2020 Audie Award Finalist

One of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2019!

Now a limited Netflix series starring Zoe Saldaña!

This Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller is “a captivating story of love lost and found” (Kirkus Reviews) set in the lush Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hours.

It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forged on. They built a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships, and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth. Eventually, they reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams.

From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family, now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother-in-law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s romance—an incredible love story that leaps off the pages.

In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case, it is both. “Locke’s raw and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of their own loved ones” (Publishers Weekly), but her story is also about love, finding a home, and chasing flavor as an act of remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love, fought for what mattered most, and those who needed a powerful reminder that life is...delicious.

About Tembi Locke

Tembi Locke is a New York Times bestselling author, producer, screenwriter, and actor whose work centers on love, loss, and resilience. Her memoir, From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, was a Reese’s Book Club pick and an instant bestseller, and an Audie Awards and Goodreads Best Books finalist. Tembi cocreated and executive produced the award-nominated and global hit Netflix adaptation of From Scratch. As a nationally recognized speaker and podcast host, her work has received widespread media attention from outlets like The New York Times, NPR, and Essence Magazine. Tembi’s work shines a light on life’s turning points and the unexpected possibilities that follow moments of change.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Danielle on November 21, 2020

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that made me appreciate my husband more ❤️ She shares the story of her love very well. It’s just a very sad story.......more

Goodreads review by SimitudeSims on February 24, 2020

My actual stars would be much lower but I feel it's unfair to judge a book just because it's a type of book I dislike. It was beautifully written and full of description that makes you want to be there. The issue is that I don't read books to make myself sad. There is enough sadness in the world wit......more

Goodreads review by JAK on May 13, 2019

I really wanted to like this, to connect with someone else who has felt grief, but it fell incredibly flat. The way it was written, I wasn't able to connect with the characters, and there was no plot. It was simply a sad woman who ate pasta. I expected to follow their love story and then feel the lo......more

Goodreads review by Lindsay L on January 08, 2023

3.5 stars This memoir shares the cross-cultural love story between an actress and a chef. The couple had to fight for their love as the chef’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of him marrying a black American woman actress. I listened to this on audio which was narrated by the author hersel......more


Quotes

"Actor Tembi Locke narrates her memoir in a smooth, warm voice that carries the listener through her story of falling in love with Saro, an engaging Sicilian chef, his early death from cancer, and how time with his family helped heal her intense grief. Locke's memoir frequently shifts timeframes, alternately voicing the devastation of his death and the joy of their life together. Locke captivates as she tells of her love for Saro and their daughter, Zoela; the pain of rejection by his family when he married her, a black American; and the bittersweet joy of reconciliation during his illness. Listeners will savor Locke's lyrical English and Italian, and will be swept away by scenes in his Sicilian village of finding solace in food made with love."