Love, Loss, And What We Ate

Avividmemoiroffoodandfamily，survivalandtriumph，Love，Loss，andWhatWeAtetracesthearcofPadmaLakshmi’sunlikelypathfromanimmigrantchildhoodtoacomplicatedlifeinfrontofthecamera—atantalizingblendofRuthReichl’sTenderattheBoneandNoraEphron’sHeartburnLongbeforePadmaLakshmieversteppedontoatelevisionset，shelearnedthathowweeatisanextensionofhowwelove，howwecomfort，howweforgeasenseofhome—andhowwetastetheworldaswenavigateourwaythroughit.Shuttlingbetweencontinentsasachild，shelivedalifeofdislocationthatwouldbecomehabitasanadult，neverquiteathomeintheworld.Andyet，throughallhertravels，herfavoritefoodremainedthesimplericeshefirstatesittingonthecoolfloorofhergrandmother’skitcheninSouthIndia.Poignantandsurprising，Love，Loss，andWhatWeAteisLakshmi’sextraordinaryaccountofherjourneyfromthathumblekitchen，ruledbyferociousandunforgettablewomen，tothejudges’tableofTopChefandbeyond.Itchroniclesthefiercedevotionoftheremarkablepeoplewhoshapedheralongtheway，fromherheadstrongmotherwhofloutedconservativeIndianconventiontomakealifeinNewYork，toherBrahmingrandfather—abrilliantengineerwithanirrepressiblesweettooth—tothemanseeminglywrongforherineverywaywhoprovedtobehertruestally.Amemoirrichwithsensualproseandpunctuatedwithevocativerecipes，itisalivewiththescents，tastes，andtexturesofalifethatspanscomplexgeographiesbothinternalandexternal.Love，Loss，andWhatWeAteisanintimateandunexpectedstoryoffoodandfamily—boththeonesweareborntoandtheoneswecreate—andtheirenduringlegacies.