Reviewing "Pie-ography: Where Pie Meets Biography"

I, like most, have lived, loved, and lost. Not enough to be unpleasant, but just enough to make me appreciate my blessings along with my challenges. -Virginia Willis

from Pie-ography

I love to read about successful, empowered women. Reading their stories makes me hope that maybe, one day, I will be able to join their ranks by having the kind of story that inspires others.

Being a fan of Where Women Cook Celebrate!, a book that does just that – celebrates the joy of being a woman in her kitchen – I knew that I would love Pie-ography by the same author, Jo Packham. Ms. Packham is the editor of the cooking magazine, Where Women Cook.

If you had to describe your life as a pie, what kind of pie would it be? Over three dozen women took on that challenging question in Pie-ograpy: Where Pie Meets Biography. Each of the featured women writes a personal essay that serves as an autobiography with delicious details of how the ingredients in her life have come together to create the pie that defines her.

While reading through the book, I ran across some familiar faces as I have read their work over the years:

• Vickie Hutchins and Jo Ann Martin from my beloved Gooseberry Patch
• Nancy Soriano, former editor of Country Living magazine
• Virginia Willis, Southern chef and cookbook author
• Christie Johnston, blogger
• Jessie Oleson, blogger, illustrator, and cookbook author
• Alice Currah, blogger and cookbook author

Of course, a pie recipe accompanies each essay. While most women identified themselves with sweet pies, a few of them leaned towards the savory side of life. You will enjoy reading the stories and recipes and will be tempted by the beautiful portraits of pie.

Being someone who enjoys a side of story with my recipes, I thoroughly devoured this book. It was more than just a cookbook. Reading through the stories made me stop and think about how everything we come into contact with throughout our lives truly influences who we are and what we become whether that contact is through people, places, on even ingredients. Many people have said that you are what you eat. I say we are what we cook.