A woman honors her father's legacy by teaching a cooking class in a home for youth in state care--a powerful memoir about the small acts of showing up that transform our lives and how making food can make community。

Liz Hauck and her dad had a plan to start a weekly cooking program in a residential home for teenage boys in state care， which was run by the human services agency he co-directed。 When her father died unexpectedly after a brief illness， Liz decided to attempt the cooking project without him。 She didn't know what to expect volunteering with court-involved youth， but as a high school teacher she knew that teenagers are drawn to food-related activities， and as a daughter， she believed that if she and the kids made even a single dinner together she could check one box off of her father's long， unfinished to-do list。 This is the story of what happened around the table， and how one dinner became one hundred dinners。

An intimate account of humorous and heartbreaking conversations， and a vivid account of the clumsy choreography of cooking with other people， Home Made is a sharply observed and honestly told story about how a kitchen can be both safe and dangerous; how even the short journey from kitchen to table can be perilous。 Each chapter explores the interconnectedness of flavor， memory， culture， and life and offers a glimpse into the ways we behave when we are hungry and the food we crave when we seek comfort。 Home Made is a tender and vivid portrait of poverty and abundance， vulnerability and strength， estrangement and connection。 It is a memoir about the radical grace we discover when we consider ourselves bound together in community and a piercing investigation of the essential question: Who are we to each other？