Description
The compulsively readable memoir of a woman at war-with herself, with her body, and with food-while working her way through the underbelly of New York City's glamorous culinary scene. Hannah Howard is a Columbia University freshman when she lands a hostess job at Picholine, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Manhattan. Eighteen years old and eager to learn, she's invigorated by the manic energy and knife-sharp focus of the crew. By day Hannah explores the Columbia arts scene, struggling to find her place. By night she's intoxicated by boxes of heady truffles and intrigued by the food industry's insiders. She's hungry for knowledge, success, and love, but she's also ravenous because she hasn't eaten more than yogurt and coffee in days. Hannah is hiding an eating disorder. The excruciatingly late nights, demanding chefs, bad boyfriends, and destructive obsessions have left a void inside her that she can't fill. To reconcile her relationships with the food she worships and a body she struggles to accept, Hannah's going to have to learn to nourish her soul.
About the Author
Hannah Howard is a writer and food expert who spent her formative years in New York eating, drinking, serving, bartending, cooking on a hot line, and flipping giant wheels of cheese in Manhattan landmarks such as Picholine and Fairway Market. She received her BA from Columbia University in creative writing and anthropology in 2009. She is currently pursuing her MFA in creative nonfiction at the Bennington Writing Seminars, where she is a recipient of the Lucy Grealy Scholarship. Her work has been published in New York magazine, VICE, and Self. She also mentors women recovering from eating disorders by helping them build happy, healthy relationships with food and themselves. She lives in New York City.
Reviews
"In this candid and searching memoir, Howard offers a celebration of food as well as an account of the determination required to forge a path to self-acceptance. An inspirational memoir of food and finding oneself." -Kirkus Reviews "Those in recovery from substance abuse will recognize themselves throughout this honest memoir; for those without addiction issues, this story offers a painful glance into the lives of those who suffer." -Publishers Weekly "In this deeply felt memoir, Howard, who also mentors young women recovering from eating disorders, pens riveting accounts of the raging monster of bingeing and haunting tales of days of weakness. Readers who are untouched by an eating disorder will be shocked, and those who know its pain more intimately will find a compassionate and understanding friend in Howard." -Booklist "Feast is a delicious memoir unlike any other." -HelloGiggles "I've just read Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen, food writer Hannah Howard's book about coming of age in the New York food scene with an eating disorder. It's honest and funny and full of her love of food-and the conflict between her insatiable hunger with her desire to be thin. I've come away from it thinking she is very brave." -Los Angeles Review of Books "Feast is a beautiful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming story that anyone who has ever struggled to define a healthy relationship with food will be able to relate to. I couldn't put it down." -Nicola Kraus, author of The Nanny Diaries "Heartfelt, heartbreaking, and courageously generous, Feast is one of the most memorable and important debuts I've ever read. With beautiful lyricism and unflinching storytelling, Hannah Howard weaves together addiction, love, fear, sexism, insecurity, ambition, and trauma in a way I've never seen done before. As with everything, with every life, Feast isn't a story about one thing, but rather how intersecting, manifold, and even contradictory things make up a life. It's a story about the miraculousness of becoming yourself. A must-read for anyone who's ever wanted to escape their body, for anyone who has loved deeply and wrongly, for anyone who has dared to forgive themselves." -Morgan Parker, author of There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce "Brave and beautifully written, Feast is an addictive read. Hannah Howard brilliantly captures the complicated relationships so many of us have with food, love, sex, and ourselves in lyrical prose that will make you hungry for more." -Kimberly Rae Miller, author of Beautiful Bodies "Hannah Howard's memoir, Feast, is a courageous exploration of vulnerability, desire, and addiction, set to the thrilling backdrop of New York City's nascent foodie culture. It's a must-read for food lovers and makers alike." -Tia Keenan, author of The Art of the Cheese Plate: Pairings, Recipes, Style, Attitude "Word for word, sentence for sentence, and chapter for chapter, Hannah Howard has written a hard-to-put-down book-one that is heart-wrenching and, ultimately, uplifting and inspirational." -David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiosity "In her revealing new memoir, Hannah Howard tells a raw tale of her love-hate relationship with eating, delving into the dark side of our food-obsessed culture. Between tormented relationships with chefs, a moth-to-a-flame attraction to the food industry, and her own struggles with an eating disorder, Howard emerges stronger and wiser, encouraging readers that yes, it can get better." -Gabriella Gershenson, food writer and editor "An immensely entertaining debut by a writer whose precision and self-preservation are that of a jet-fighter pilot-incisive, totally aware of the forces around her and her own fallibility." -Steven Jenkins, author of Cheese Primer "Feast is a beautifully rendered account not only of coming of age as a woman in the fraught, fascinating world of food, but of coming of age as a woman in her own skin, and body, and mind. Hannah Howard writes with exceptional candor, insight, and intelligence." -Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking with Men "Hannah Howard tells her story with honesty, insight, humor and deliciously descriptive prose. Feast is a gripping, moving memoir, a book that lives up its name." -Sam Lipsyte, author of The Fun Parts "A gorgeous, painful reckoning with food, femininity, and ambition-a moving look at a young woman becoming herself in the grueling culture of New York City restaurants. There's an affecting tension between Howard's passion for exquisite food and an eating disorder that has become a 'soundtrack' to her life. This is a book full of heartbreak and delight, with appealing expertise from a talented writer who has been in the trenches, sampling suckling pig, taking the temperature of trout, dodging the unwanted advance from the chef. Rich, complex, and compulsively readable." -Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Almost Famous Women "In her remarkably vivid debut book, Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen, Hannah Howard draws us into her extraordinary, relatable coming-of-age story, which takes place amidst the bustle and intrigue-and booms and busts-of the food world. In so doing, she dishes up the inside story of her struggles with bad boyfriends, body image, and an eating disorder-with fasting and bingeing, successes and setbacks, emotional ups and downs, and the search for deeper meaning and inner peace. I couldn't put this book down." -Stephen Massimilla, author of Cooking with the Muse
Book Information
ISBN 9781503942585
Author Hannah Howard
Format Paperback
Page Count 252
Imprint Little A
Publisher Amazon Publishing
About the Author
Hannah Howard is a writer and food expert who spent her formative years in New York eating, drinking, serving, bartending, cooking on a hot line, and flipping giant wheels of cheese in Manhattan landmarks such as Picholine and Fairway Market. She received her BA from Columbia University in creative writing and anthropology in 2009. She is currently pursuing her MFA in creative nonfiction at the Bennington Writing Seminars, where she is a recipient of the Lucy Grealy Scholarship. Her work has been published in New York magazine, VICE, and Self. She also mentors women recovering from eating disorders by helping them build happy, healthy relationships with food and themselves. She lives in New York City.
Reviews
"In this candid and searching memoir, Howard offers a celebration of food as well as an account of the determination required to forge a path to self-acceptance. An inspirational memoir of food and finding oneself." -Kirkus Reviews "Those in recovery from substance abuse will recognize themselves throughout this honest memoir; for those without addiction issues, this story offers a painful glance into the lives of those who suffer." -Publishers Weekly "In this deeply felt memoir, Howard, who also mentors young women recovering from eating disorders, pens riveting accounts of the raging monster of bingeing and haunting tales of days of weakness. Readers who are untouched by an eating disorder will be shocked, and those who know its pain more intimately will find a compassionate and understanding friend in Howard." -Booklist "Feast is a delicious memoir unlike any other." -HelloGiggles "I've just read Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen, food writer Hannah Howard's book about coming of age in the New York food scene with an eating disorder. It's honest and funny and full of her love of food-and the conflict between her insatiable hunger with her desire to be thin. I've come away from it thinking she is very brave." -Los Angeles Review of Books "Feast is a beautiful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming story that anyone who has ever struggled to define a healthy relationship with food will be able to relate to. I couldn't put it down." -Nicola Kraus, author of The Nanny Diaries "Heartfelt, heartbreaking, and courageously generous, Feast is one of the most memorable and important debuts I've ever read. With beautiful lyricism and unflinching storytelling, Hannah Howard weaves together addiction, love, fear, sexism, insecurity, ambition, and trauma in a way I've never seen done before. As with everything, with every life, Feast isn't a story about one thing, but rather how intersecting, manifold, and even contradictory things make up a life. It's a story about the miraculousness of becoming yourself. A must-read for anyone who's ever wanted to escape their body, for anyone who has loved deeply and wrongly, for anyone who has dared to forgive themselves." -Morgan Parker, author of There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce "Brave and beautifully written, Feast is an addictive read. Hannah Howard brilliantly captures the complicated relationships so many of us have with food, love, sex, and ourselves in lyrical prose that will make you hungry for more." -Kimberly Rae Miller, author of Beautiful Bodies "Hannah Howard's memoir, Feast, is a courageous exploration of vulnerability, desire, and addiction, set to the thrilling backdrop of New York City's nascent foodie culture. It's a must-read for food lovers and makers alike." -Tia Keenan, author of The Art of the Cheese Plate: Pairings, Recipes, Style, Attitude "Word for word, sentence for sentence, and chapter for chapter, Hannah Howard has written a hard-to-put-down book-one that is heart-wrenching and, ultimately, uplifting and inspirational." -David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiosity "In her revealing new memoir, Hannah Howard tells a raw tale of her love-hate relationship with eating, delving into the dark side of our food-obsessed culture. Between tormented relationships with chefs, a moth-to-a-flame attraction to the food industry, and her own struggles with an eating disorder, Howard emerges stronger and wiser, encouraging readers that yes, it can get better." -Gabriella Gershenson, food writer and editor "An immensely entertaining debut by a writer whose precision and self-preservation are that of a jet-fighter pilot-incisive, totally aware of the forces around her and her own fallibility." -Steven Jenkins, author of Cheese Primer "Feast is a beautifully rendered account not only of coming of age as a woman in the fraught, fascinating world of food, but of coming of age as a woman in her own skin, and body, and mind. Hannah Howard writes with exceptional candor, insight, and intelligence." -Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking with Men "Hannah Howard tells her story with honesty, insight, humor and deliciously descriptive prose. Feast is a gripping, moving memoir, a book that lives up its name." -Sam Lipsyte, author of The Fun Parts "A gorgeous, painful reckoning with food, femininity, and ambition-a moving look at a young woman becoming herself in the grueling culture of New York City restaurants. There's an affecting tension between Howard's passion for exquisite food and an eating disorder that has become a 'soundtrack' to her life. This is a book full of heartbreak and delight, with appealing expertise from a talented writer who has been in the trenches, sampling suckling pig, taking the temperature of trout, dodging the unwanted advance from the chef. Rich, complex, and compulsively readable." -Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Almost Famous Women "In her remarkably vivid debut book, Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen, Hannah Howard draws us into her extraordinary, relatable coming-of-age story, which takes place amidst the bustle and intrigue-and booms and busts-of the food world. In so doing, she dishes up the inside story of her struggles with bad boyfriends, body image, and an eating disorder-with fasting and bingeing, successes and setbacks, emotional ups and downs, and the search for deeper meaning and inner peace. I couldn't put this book down." -Stephen Massimilla, author of Cooking with the Muse
Book Information
ISBN 9781503942585
Author Hannah Howard
Format Paperback
Page Count 252
Imprint Little A
Publisher Amazon Publishing
