From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

A heartfelt and captivating tale of intercultural love set against the verdant landscape of Sicily, in which a lady finds solace in food, family, and unexpected grace at her hour of greatest need.

When Tembi and Saro, a skilled chef, met on a Florence street, it was love at first sight. The only issue was that Saro's conservative Sicilian family disapproved of his being married to a black American lady, much alone an actor. But the pair continues on, devastated but unfazed. They create a lovely life for themselves in Los Angeles, complete with rewarding jobs, close connections, and the joy of their lives—a newborn daughter they adopt. They eventually make up with Saro's family, just before he is diagnosed with a deadly disease that would crush all of their hopes.

From Scratch tells the story of Tembi's three summers in Sicily with her daughter Zoela, as she starts to put together her life in the small farming community of her childhood home without her husband. Tembi used to be cut off from Saro's family and his roots, but now days she finds comfort and sustenance at her mother-in-law's table, both physically and metaphorically. She finds the consoling benefits of uncomplicated, fresh cuisine, the support of a close-knit community, and age-old customs and knowledge that illuminate the way ahead in the rural areas of Sicily. She thinks back on her amazing relationship with Saro the whole time—a love tale that almost jumps off the page.

It is believed in Sicily that every narrative starts with either a marriage or a death; Tembi Locke's story starts with both. Though her narrative is mostly about love discovered, it also deals with loss. Although she travels, her tale is actually about finding a place to call home. It is mostly about pursuing flavour as a way to remember, even if it is about eating. Anyone who has ventured to pursue great love, stood up for what was right, or needed a potent reminder that life is...delicious should read From Scratch.