SKU: 39946922616

Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic Depression

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Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic DepressionA FINALIST FOR THE NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD FOR NON FICTION A PASTE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIMEOUT NEW YORK'S BEST SUMMER BEACH READS OF 2017 ONE OF REAL SIMPLE'S 25 FATHER'S DAY BOOKS THAT COVER ALL OF DAD'S INTERESTS The stunning and long awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award winning website Leite's Culinaria a candid, courageous, and at times laugh out loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual

A FINALIST FOR THE NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD FOR NON FICTION

A PASTE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

ONE OF TIMEOUT NEW YORK'S BEST SUMMER BEACH READS OF 2017

ONE OF REAL SIMPLE'S 25 FATHER'S DAY BOOKS THAT COVER ALL OF DAD'S INTERESTS

The stunning and long-awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite's Culinaria--a candid, courageous, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual identity.

Born into a family of Azorean immigrants, David Leite grew up in the 1960s in a devoutly Catholic, blue-collar, food-crazed Portuguese home in Fall River, Massachusetts. A clever and determined dreamer with a vivid imagination and a flair for the dramatic, "Banana" as his mother endearingly called him, yearned to live in a middle-class house with a swinging kitchen door just like the ones on television, and fell in love with everything French, thanks to his Portuguese and French-Canadian godmother. But David also struggled with the emotional devastation of manic depression. Until he was diagnosed in his mid-thirties, David found relief from his wild mood swings in learning about food, watching Julia Child, and cooking for others.

Notes on a Banana is his heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career. Reminiscing about the people and events that shaped him, David looks back at the highs and lows of his life: from his rejection of being gay and his attempt to "turn straight" through Aesthetic Realism, a cult in downtown Manhattan, to becoming a writer, cookbook author, and web publisher, to his twenty-four-year relationship with Alan, known to millions of David's readers as "The One," which began with (what else?) food. Throughout the journey, David returns to his stoves and tables, and those of his family, as a way of grounding himself.

A blend of Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, the food memoirs by Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Gabrielle Hamilton, and the character-rich storytelling of Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, Notes on a Banana is a feast that dazzles, delights, and, ultimately, heals.

--No Real Simple, 25 Father's Day Books That Cover All of Dad's Interests Real Simple, 25 Father's Day Books That Cover All of Dad's Interests

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Published: 01/16/2018
ISBN: 9780062414380
Pages: 384
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 1.10d
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SKU: 39946922616

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Amazing quality feels very nice to the touch, decent size, on the bigger side if you’re looking for a smaller table organizer, but still great!
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Well made, looks high-end. Nice place to put things like wallet, keys, and pocket change.
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Bought this for my husband. It is a bit weighty, which makes it feel substantial. The covering material feels like velvety suede. We got the brown one. It looks like we spent good money for it but the price was really reasonable. He just needed something in between small and large and this was perfect for storing his glasses, watch, billfold, etc. Great quality! Very pleased!
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