Bread & Wine

A few months ago, a lovely lady told me that Shauna Niequist was looking for bloggers to review her new book.  Clearly, being a fan of Cold Tangerines, I jumped at the chance to get an advance copy of this new one, Bread & Wine.

Guys. It’s so good.

She hooked me right away because she begins by telling you that she is a bread person and a wine person. Umm… me too! Great, we are going to get along really well. 

She uses bread and wine as a connection to her religion- the body and the blood.  Shauna has an unwavering faith and speaks to it though out the book, but she said one thing that made me feel better about my sometimes hot and cold relationship with the church. She said that her most sacred moments, the moments when she feels the “goodness of the world most arrestingly, take place at the table.” She continues to relate it to our modern world, our real lives- all without sounding the least bit preachy.  It is inspring to read, and it reminded me, as I’m sure it will remind all of you, to take a moment to remember what faith is really about.

Moving on to food- Shauna loves food as much as I do.  The way she talks about it in the book is like poetry.  I was hungry while reading most of the book, because she is so passionate about flavors, textures, aromas. As she described all of the wonderful reasons why she loves to cook, I kept saying to myself “Yes! I didn’t even know I felt that way!” She talks about the elemental aspects of cooking- heat, knife, sizzle.  In a world where most of us sit at a desk or stare at a computer screen, it is so satisfying to make something with your hands. For those of you who don’t cook, you can always start! Shauna talks about the days before she knew how to cook and whipping together a homemade vinaigrette seemed like a challenge.  Everyone can learn how to cook in a way that nourishes them and the people they love. It doesn’t need to be fancy or impressive.  As she says, food is the great equalizer. And it’s never too late to get in the kitchen and try.  Which leads me to my favorite quote in the whole book. 

Ever since I moved to Chicago, I have had slight separation anxiety from my friends back on the east coast.  I highlighted so many quotes about friendship while reading this book, that I won’t even list all of them here! All I can say is: Shauna gets it. She talks about her people throughout the book- emailing them even if they live all over the country, asking for prayers in difficult times, helping each other through both the sad seasons and the happy seasons of life.  She is not a fair weather friend, and everything she said about the power of friendship rang true to me. Everyone talks about how hard it is to find their one true love, but what about finding the really great friendships in your life? It was so refreshing to hear her talk about how important her people have been in her life.

I could go on and on, but I want you to read the actual book… so, I’ll wind it down. 

Go get this book.  I felt like every time I picked it up, a friend was talking to me.  I have already read it twice, and I’m sure I will go back to a few chapters in there time and time again.  I will come back to this book when I need a reminder to slow down, taste the food, love the people around me, and be present in every moment.

Click below to purchase any of her books! Do it!

Also if you pin any of the quotes, use the #breadandwine!

There are so many more quotes that I still want to share with you, so look out for those in upcoming posts.  There are also recipes in this book (YES!), so I will be making my way through those for you all, as well.  I really want to try the breakfast cookies, blueberry crisp, watermelon/feta salad, enchiladas, and much more.

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xoxo