What We're Reading: Abby
Signs of Life by Natalie Taylor

Natalie Taylor was young, married to the love of her life and four months pregnant when her husband was killed in a freak skateboarding accident. Her life went from extremely happy and full to uncomprehensibly sad and very, very tragic. This memoir is based on journal entries she made during that first year or so after her husband's untimely death. The journal can be harsh at times but when you realize what Natalie is dealing with you appreciate her honesty and humor. She details how aggravating her in-laws can be without having the buffer of her husband. She has times when she can't hold it together but tries very hard to manage knowing that everyone around her is expecting her to collapse. When her son Kai is born she has to navigate through all of the difficult first months with a newborn alone while still grieving for the husband who was lost so young. Though she has a very tight group of close friends and family ultimately it is up to her to navigate through this difficult time and find the strength to endure. Natalie is from Michigan. She grew up and went to school in Birmingham and now teaches literature at Berkley High School.

What We're Reading: Abby

Life on the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas.


This is the story of a young, ambitious chef who was born and raised in St. Clair, Michigan. Grant Achatz, of the Achatz restaurant and pie family, decided that he wanted to do more than run a small town restaurant so he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America. He studied under the top chefs and worked for other legendary chefs while perfecting his craft and developing his palate. Along the way he became friends with one of his most enthusiastic patrons, Nick Kokonas. They both take turns in the book describing different periods in their lives and eventually how they came to be partners in a very successful restaurant in Chicago called Alinea. Chef Achatz is a master of molecular gastronomy. Every dish is like piece of art, visually stunning and always a surprising experience for the taste buds.

Just when everything seems to be going to well for the young chef he is diagnosed with advanced stage tongue cancer. All of the doctors said that the only treatment available was to remove the tongue and fashion a new tongue out of some muscle from another part of his body. He wouldn't be able to speak and wouldn't be able to taste but it might save his life. Chef Achatz couldn't do it. He finally found a doctor who was willing to try heavy doses of chemotherapy and radiation rather than remove the tongue. It was a very difficult time but he got through it.

Today Chef Achatz is doing well and is very busy running his restaurants in Chicago.

What We're Reading: Abby

Just Kids by Patti Smith

This is a beautifully written memoir of a difficult yet poignant time in the lives of Patti Smith and her good friend Robert Mapplethorpe. The time was the late 1960's and 1970's the place was New York City. They were homeless, hungry and pooled their meager resources to survive. Each believed that they were destined for something big but they weren't sure how. They made a vow to take care of each other and for the most part did just that. Mapplethorpe found his art through the camera but Smith found fame first as a rock star. It is a touching story of their struggles, their loves, their adventures and their rise to fame. But in the end it is also a eulogy to Mapplethorpe upon his untimely death from AIDS in 1989.

What We're Reading: Abby

This is a coming-of-age story, at least in the political arena, of Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator John McCain. It's a memoir of her experiences on her father's 2008 presidential campaign where she had the responsibility of maintaining the blog, mccainblogette.com. This was a daily blog about life on the campaign trail from the vantage point of a young republican. There are many bad hair days and lessons in how to dress properly as well as how to behave and how not to behave when everything reflects on the candidate. Though she at times comes off as a spoiled drama queen in many parts she seems to have such an out-going and fun personalilty that you can't help but like her. She adores her parents and tried in her own way to contribute to the effort to have her father elected president.