Book Review: "From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home" by Tembi Locke
“From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home” by Tembi Locke
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Publisher Synopsis: It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forged on. They built a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships, and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth. Eventually, they reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams.
From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family, now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother-in-law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s romance—an incredible love story that leaps off the pages.
In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case, it is both. “Locke’s raw and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of their own loved ones” (Publishers Weekly), but her story is also about love, finding a home, and chasing flavor as an act of remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love, fought for what mattered most, and those who needed a powerful reminder that life is...delicious.
Rating (out of 5): 4.5
Trigger Warning: death/grief
Review: Actress Tembi Locke’s memoir had been on my radar for awhile, and I’m excited to report that it did not disappoint. Italy is one of my favorite places in the world (and I can’t wait to visit once travel is safe and we are allowed back into the EU…), and this memoir was part love letter to Tembi’s late husband, part love letter to Italy.
Tembi’s memoir centers around her beautiful love story with her late husband—how they met, and how his passing affected her and their daughter. The account of how they met is truly the stuff that study abroad dreams are made of; girl goes to Italy in college, meets an Italian man and falls in love, they get married. But while the two had a happily ever after for a time, it was marred by the fact that his traditional Sicilian family did not accept his marrying an American—and a Black American at that.
Twenty years into their marriage (and after reconciling with his parents), Tembi’s husband Saro passes away. The chapter on his death had me tearing up (and I’m not what you would call a “crier”). And it wasn’t just his untimely passing that Tembi had to content with—she writes about being mistaken for “the help” by nurses, among other micro (and macro) aggressions.
After Saro’s passing, Tembi visits her in-laws in Sicily, and continues to do so each subsequent summer. She writes of “home” being in two places, the beauty of Italy and the pureness of Italian food—Saro was a chef, and the passage in which she cooks pasta without him for the first time is so poignant. She writes about teaching her daughter about Saro’s Sicilian heritage, growing her relationship with Saro’s mother, discovering what “family” means, and of her intense grief and mourning after her husband’s death.
Highly recommend this lovely, heart-wrenching memoir!
TL;DR: A stunning memoir which blends food writing, grief exploration, cross-cultural relationships, and a beautiful love story.
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