From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
Written by Tembi Locke
Narrated by Tembi Locke
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
One of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2019!
Now a limited Netflix series starring Zoe Saldana!
This Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller is “a captivating story of love lost and found” (Kirkus Reviews) set in the lush Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hours.
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.
Editor's Note
Share with your soulmate…
A moving (and mouth-watering) memoir of love worth fighting for, heartbreak, and the healing power of food. This book will have you longing to share a heaping plate of Italian food with your soulmate. Reese Witherspoon picked it for her book club in May 2019.
Tembi Locke
Tembi Locke is an accomplished actor who has appeared in over sixty television shows and films, including The Magicians, NCIS: LA, Animal Kingdom, and Dumb and Dumber To. She is also a TEDx speaker. Her talk, What Forty Steps Taught Me About Love and Grief, traces her journey as a cancer caregiver. She is the creative voice behind The Kitchen Widow, an online grief support community that has received mentions in The New York Times and The Guardian. The author of From Scratch, she lives in Los Angeles with her young daughter, but can be found each summer on the island of Sicily.
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Reviews for From Scratch
613 ratings38 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Having the writer as the reader, in first person, made this story come alive. I often shy away from autobiographical novels, but this one was endearing. Bring the tissues....
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A wonderful book about life love and death. And how she handle ever part of it. How she tells a story makes me want to go to Italy. A must read or listen too.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I thought I would love this book. It dragged on a little too much. Too much of the grief. Just a little too much of that. Beautifully written but I just got bored.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tembi narrated this sweet story with so much grace and feeling. It’s a beautiful story - I couldn’t stop listening. And now I’m eager to see and create the recipes that are in the book.
So glad I chose this for a cold weeks read. It made me feel hopeful for great love. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A beautiful story. Vivid pictures of Sicily. A Truly enjoyable read. Not to be missed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is my favorite book of the year so far. Such beautiful writing and descriptions and love. I'm already set to re-read it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a beautiful life story of happiness, sorrow, and resilience. And the author Tembi Locke, does an amazing job narrating her book and sharing her emotions wholeheartedly. I teared up multiple times. Touching audiobook.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautiful memoir of love found and loss and the aftermath of experiencing grief
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Beautifully written, tragic love story. I cried so many times listening to this book. I am so sorry for the loss of Saro and I hope time has softened the pain at least a bit for Tembi and her family. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great read of loss and love. I loved hearing the Sicilian language spoken and realized how important it was to be added to the telling of this story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Intriguing, colorful, and such a beautiful story. A great read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very different from the Netflix series but I loved every bit of it!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved the book felt so connected with her. Thanks for a wonderful read!!! ❤️❤️❤️
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brought me back to trips in Italy. Beautiful narrating a chicken soup for the soul. La Vita es Bella meets Under the Tuscan Sun in Sicily. Highly recommend.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very beautiful and a heartfelt story of loss and a tribute to Sicily.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written. A story of love and loss, home and belonging. I was constantly in tears, sharing the grief of a wife who lost a husband and a daughter who lost a father. What an honour to have been let into the lives of this beautiful family and this amazing love story. Long may the memory of Saro live.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this book and it was very sad overall it was a good book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I particularly liked the observations of Italian and especially Sicilian culture, the multi-cultural aspects of the story, and the description of what it means to be a young widow and single parent of a child who has been through a traumatic event.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What an incredible story!! I’m so glad I chose to “hear” this story rather than “read it”.
It’s an incredible study of love, loss and everything in between! Highly recommend this audio version - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm in a complete awe of this book and it's author...I envy her the live she was able to have, the love of a wonderful man and the possibility to be reborn in a wonderful Sicily. I laughed and I cried...I loved listening to Tembie from the beginning till the end. Well done!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed every moment, thank you for sharing your story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a incredibly beautiful love story and healing journey for blended families.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book is good, well written and read, and it has a good message, it allows you to have a shift of perspective in life.
It helped me understand a bit more about grief and how it is different from the grief I've experienced in life. However, it was a bit harsh to listen, as painful in the beginning as it was towards the end... you see, I felt the pain in her voice and words, and mainly that was what I felt listening to it, just pain, even though what she was describing sometimes was joyful. It didn't shift gears, perhaps it wasn't supposed to, but that left me surprised at the end, after all the pain, the story hadn't moved me enough to find it remarkable. Maybe it's because it was meant to take me to a place I already am or have been recently...
Truth is, it's a hard and powerful story, but it didn't shake me as I thought it would.
I'd recommend it to some people, specially if their lives are connected to Sicily or have a multicultural family, just not as strongly as I've recommended other books. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book made me travel, fall in love, and hungry craving for pasta and burrata. The book, supposedly about loss, felt more like a book of empowerment and hope. The backstories were seamless and poignant, without being overly dramatic. The recollections were nostalgic and bittersweet, without dwelling on the negativity. I'd love to see this in a movie!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The words flowed so beautifully. What a fabulous love story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Beautiful true love story. Very heart felt. Attention capturing from page one.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This story was very touching. It talks about love in one of the most sought after forms.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was so emotional.. it was bittersweet .. you feel the loss and at the same time love .. rip Saro
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I truly enjoyed this personal, heartfelt accounting of love and loss. Well written and lovingly shared. I grieved with Tembi's loss and rejoice with her love and hope for her bright future.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5So many raw emotions and what an incredible story. Love this book so much!