My Grandmother’s Memoir begins with the day the author stumbled upon an old cassette player and discovered an interview her youngest son had conducted years earlier with his now deceased great-grandmother. Huijgens creatively reimagines the day of the interview, crafting a story about family that bridges several generations until recollections are muddled and her grandmother’s narrative becomes her own. It ends with heart felt stories from people who knew her grandmother best: children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family and friends. At the book’s core are her grandmother’s own writings about family and coming of age in a rapidly changing Orange County, California, during the early 1900s. In sometimes humorous detail, the stories reflect an unwavering commitment to hard work, generosity, self-less caring and unconditional honesty – values that a devoted grandmother tried to pass along to her descendants. Alongside these musings are the recipes that brought four generations of her family to the table. My Grandmother’s Memoir is equal parts cookbook, historical recollection and nostalgia for good old-fashion storytelling.

To order My Grandmother’s Memoir: Reflections on Four Generations and the Recipes That Brought Them to the Table, please visit your local bookstore first. Books can also be purchased from www.idletimepress.com and other online retail outlets.

ON-SALE NOVEVMBER 29, 2018