Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist (book review)

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes

From the inside flap:

This is what I want you to do: tell someone you love them, and that dinner's at six.

Bread & Wine is a collection of stories about life around the table--about family, friend- ships, and the meals that bring us together. It's about Bacon-Wrapped Dates and Mango Chicken Curry and Blueberry Crisp. It's about the ways God teaches and nourishes us as we nourish the people around us. It's about recipes, entertaining ideas, and meals to share with friends and family, made by hand and with love.

Many of the most sacred moments in my life, the ones in which I feel God's presence most profoundly, when I feel the goodness of the world most arrestingly, take place around the table. Something extraordinary happens when we slow down, open our homes, look into one another's faces, and listen to one another's stories around the table.

This is my love letter to life around the table.

My review:

Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table is a collection of essays and life stories from Ms Niequist in this journey that we call life. It is a collection of life stories about how entertwined lives are with one another and how food and eating around a table add another fundamental element to life. Niequist writes about all things of life…good times (such as baby showers) and bad times (such as dealing with medical issues and children’s sicknesses). I enjoyed reading Niequist’s personal stories and could relate to many of them on many levels. I laughed throughout this book. I cried. I smiled and I thought.

Intertwined in her stories were many yummy sounding recipes that Niequist shares with her readers….everything from blueberry crisp to white bean soup to farmer’s market potato salad. I have not tried any of her recipes, but it has set a fire under me to start making recipes instead of just relying on pre-made food.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone!

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, from the publisher and from Handlebar Marketing..