Author: Reese Witherspoon
Started:December 21, 2018
Finished: December 29, 2018
Pages: 304
Genre: Non-Fiction
First Sentence: In my late twenties, I found myself facing some hard choices.
Summary: [From BN] Reese Witherspoon’s grandmother Dorothea always said that a combination of beauty and strength made southern women “whiskey in a teacup.” We may be delicate and ornamental on the outside, she said, but inside we’re strong and fiery. Reese’s southern heritage informs her whole life, and she loves sharing the joys of southern living with practically everyone she meets. She takes the South wherever she goes with bluegrass, big holiday parties, and plenty of Dorothea’s fried chicken. It’s reflected in how she entertains, decorates her home, and makes holidays special for her kids—not to mention how she talks, dances, and does her hair (in these pages, you will learn Reese’s fail-proof, only slightly insane hot-roller technique). Reese loves sharing Dorothea’s most delicious recipes as well as her favorite southern traditions, from midnight barn parties to backyard bridal showers, magical Christmas mornings to rollicking honky-tonks. It’s easy to bring a little bit of Reese’s world into your home, no matter where you live. After all, there’s a southern side to every place in the world, right?
Thoughts: I am not the target audience for this book. When I picked it up, I thought it would be more memoir than lifestyle blogger book. As a lifestyle blogger book, it's spot on. Witherspoon shares personal stories with recipes, tips, and ideas for what it means to be Southern. In that regard, this book is spot on. If you want a lifestyle book that focuses on the South, I highly recommend this book.
But that is not who I am. I love a good lifestyle blog and book, but I kept wanting more out of this. Witherspoon shares what it means to be Southern, but only a particular class of moneyed, white Southern. She talks about derby parties and decorating your home and all manner of things that, while in and of themselves are delightful, come with difficult backstories that are not discussed in this book. Many times she talks about how welcoming and caring people in the South are... which I know is true... but the way she writes it comes across a little bit like she's trying to apologize for the other, negative aspects of the South without directly addressing those issues. This is a sanitized version of the South that makes it "safe" for her, let's be honest, predominately white readers to accept.
I read Michael W. Twitty's The Cooking Gene towards the beginning of this year and that is a book that has stuck with me. So, when Reese shares a recipe for collard greens, it makes me uncomfortable because I know more of the backstory. The story about the crime of slavery that put those recipes on white slaveholder tables. No matter how hard I tried, I could not disconnect that truth with the light and airy lifestyle story Witherspoon is trying to sell.
That's not to say that this is a bad book. Witherspoon's writing is wonderful. It's friendly and inviting and does a great job of connecting her story and life with how she was raised. The recipes look delicious, and her desire to create a happy and welcoming home is inviting. But I, as a reader, could not disconnect and simply enjoy the story she was sharing. I tried, but I couldn't. I don't want to knock this book because it would make a great read or coffee table addition for most people, but I just wasn't comfortable reading it.
Rating: 5/10 [Meh.]
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