Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl

If I had to give the movie pitch for Tender at the Bone, it would be “The Glass Castle meets the Julie / Julia Project”.   Ruth Reichl became famous as the food critic for the New York Times, is now is Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet, and has written a few books about herself.  This book is about her younger days, up to the point she started are a food critic.  The Glass Castle reference’s the relationship with the mentally ill mother, and the ability to build your own successful life while still maintaining that relationship in one way or another.  The Julie / Julia reference is living poor in New York as a young adult, and the seemingly natural ability to write about food.  The best line in the book is the disclaimer at the front “Everything here is true, but it may not be entirely factual …  I have occasionally embroidered”.  I think it should be included in most the memoirs I have read!   An enjoyable read, but lets hope they don’t make a movie about it, her mother’s cooking would definitely put this in the category of horror movies!