Kane’s Cooking and Screaming Worth Reading
If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I love foodie memoirs. When I first heard of Adrienne Kane’s book, Cooking and Screaming: Finding My Own Recipe for Recovery, I was especially intrigued.
As a healthcare worker, I’ve worked with countless stroke survivors. In my personal life, I love food and writing. I also see the impact good food or lack thereof has on my patients. Family members bring food to nurture and comfort recovering patients, and it’s devastating when people can’t or won’t eat or drink.
Kane’s memoir recalls her persoanal triumph of surviving an AVM (an arterio-venous malformation – symptoms are similar to that of a stroke) at the young age of 21. Eating, cooking, and writing were all crucial parts of her rehab and recovery. This book ties together so many of my interests – I couldn’t wait to read her inspring story.
Adrienne Kane is best known as a food blogger and has been featured in magazines and websites prior to the release of her book this past February. Her book first pulled me in through its structure. Each chapter begins with a mouth-watering recipe that has personal significance to Kane. She uses the recipes as natural transitions to tell her life story. Many foodie memoirs lack structure and this is a real pet peeve when I read them, but that is never an issue with Cooking and Screaming.
Kane’s story is honest without feeling like a gory tell-all. Her writing style is fluid and natural, and you quickly feel like a friend is sharing a personal story. She tells of her failures and triumphs and, in the process, elicits empathy and an understanding of the real healing power that food can have. As a new graduate, Kane was a dancer and an aspiring teacher. Yet, before she had the opportunity to begin her career, she endured an AVM and was in a coma for three weeks. She awoke to significant physical impairments as well as milder speech and cognitive defecits.
Kane’s first foray back into the kitchen was where she began to rediscover herself – despite having the full use of only one hand. Her perseverance leads her from the therapy kitchen to her home kitchen to a catering job, and on to a blog and a book. I was incredibly interested by the direction her life took, and incredibly inspired and awed. Her book is a great read and I can’t wait to try her recipes. I’m hoping a cookbook is released soon!
Tags: Adrienne Kane, AVM, cooking and screaming, foodie, memoir, stroke survivor
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