It's Been a Minute!

Thanks for still being here

Real talk? Between watching world events on my phone, writing the manuscript for my next cookbook, and doing my day job, I have been overwhelmed and not sure what to write about on here. Since most of my posts are about things I’m enjoying that you might enjoy also (books, movies, dance classes, food, museums, etc.) I will offer a recommendation today.

Last week, in Philadelphia, my Dad and I saw the brilliant writer, Tayari Jones give a talk about her newest novel, Kin. It was the last week of Black History Month (though we all know BHM is actually 365 days a year) and it was particularly special because before the book talk we had dinner at Honeysuckle, which feels like an homage to Black cultural history. Also, spoiler alert, there’s a town in Kin that is named Honeysuckle. We both enjoyed listening to Tayari Jones and Asali Solomon talk about the themes in Kin—friendship, mothers, HBCUs, class, the American South. Our families are old friends so we made sure to have a moment to congratulate her after the event. Afterwards, Dad and I started reading the book together. I read on the train back to New York and he read before going to bed. We’ve been checking in daily about Kin and I have to say I highly recommend reading a book with your parent (if you both have genuine interest in it). It’s really fun!

It’s been fascinating to talk about Atlanta and Jim Crow south with my Dad, who grew up in Georgia and went to Morehouse in the 1960s—the same era is the backdrop for much of Kin. We talk about this time period often but to talk about it in the context of a novel is illuminating in a different way. I won’t give away too many details about the book, but I will share the general gist: two Black girls grow up in a rural southern town. They are like sisters and share the deepest bonds, but their paths diverge and the bulk of the story is about what unfolds when they each begin their own separate journeys—while continuing to be close friends. Tayari Jones said the book is like “if Sula and Beaches had a baby.” Perfect description, and a reminder that I need to re-read Sula and watch Beaches again.

Kin is an epic and engaging story filled with so many twists and turns and I hope you will read it! It’s the best book I have read in a long while.