From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-24 04:54:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tembi Locke
- ISBN：150118766X
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Summary
This Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller is “a captivating story of love lost and found” （Kirkus Reviews） set in the lush Sicilian countryside， where one woman discovers the healing powers of food， family， and unexpected grace in her darkest hours。
It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef， Saro， on a street in Florence。 There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman。 However， the couple， heartbroken but undeterred， forged on。 They built a happy life in Los Angeles， with fulfilling careers， deep friendships， and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth。 Eventually， they reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams。
From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter， Zoela， as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers。 Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family， now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother-in-law’s table。 In the Sicilian countryside， she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food， the embrace of a close knit community， and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward。 All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s romance—an incredible love story that leaps off the pages。
In Sicily， it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case， it is both。 “Locke’s raw and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of their own loved ones” （Publishers Weekly）， but her story is also about love， finding a home， and chasing flavor as an act of remembrance。 From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love， fought for what mattered most， and those who needed a powerful reminder that life is。。。delicious。
It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef， Saro， on a street in Florence。 There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman。 However， the couple， heartbroken but undeterred， forged on。 They built a happy life in Los Angeles， with fulfilling careers， deep friendships， and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth。 Eventually， they reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams。
From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter， Zoela， as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers。 Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family， now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother-in-law’s table。 In the Sicilian countryside， she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food， the embrace of a close knit community， and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward。 All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s romance—an incredible love story that leaps off the pages。
In Sicily， it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case， it is both。 “Locke’s raw and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of their own loved ones” （Publishers Weekly）， but her story is also about love， finding a home， and chasing flavor as an act of remembrance。 From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love， fought for what mattered most， and those who needed a powerful reminder that life is。。。delicious。
Reviews
Joy Marchone
，
This was a beautiful and heartfelt memoir。 The author shared intimate feelings about her Italian husband that were very touching。 A well-written and thought provoking true story with a wonderfully painted picture of Sicily。 Looking forward to watching on Netflix！
Mary Ellen
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BEAUTIFUL STORY！10 stars
Katie
，
It felt pretentious， and the author just wasn’t very likable to me。 Not what I expected and didn’t really like it。
Sandy
，
I enjoyed this book of love， loss and love。 My only complaint would be that it dragged at times。 I also got tired of the sorrow。 It was a downer and I think my mood was not wanting to drown in her sadness。 Losing a husband to cancer with a family in Sicily must have been so difficult。
Kristen Brosch
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One of my favorite places of all time that I’ve visited is Florence。 This book made me remember how much I loved it there。 Beautifully written love story。 The sadness and the pure love balanced each other nicely。
Liza McArdle
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So incredibly heartfelt， poignant and beautifully written！ This grief memoir set partially in Sicily absolutely tugged at my heartstrings and helped me realize that the lost person lives on in our love for them。 Soon to be a Netflix series and I am so looking forward to it now。
Katie
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Charming and evocative of both Sicily and good food。 I’m afraid I docked a star because this pragmatic Brit couldn’t stomach all the polished and romanticised grief - definitely a cultural thing。
Lindsey Jones
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A sweet and insightful read。
Angel Suarez
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This book is just so rich and vivid。 It pangs on the heartstrings。 Tembi Locke’s diction beckons me to revisit my own life and memory and color it in luscious language。 Bravo！！
Sue
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I listened to the book which was read by the author。 The true story about love and loss between an American African American and a Sicilian。 The bonds of family united these families who came from different cultures and life experiences。
Shonna
，
I’m so glad I read actress Tembi Locke’s book about her real life love story with her Sicilian husband before the Netflix adaptation is released （adapted by ReeseWitherspoon’s production company Hellosunshine）。This is a moving， raw and poignant examination of love， loss， grief， and the healing powers of family， food and a connection to the land and history。Be aware of trigger warnings for cancer， infertility and loss of a loved one。 I certainly shed a few tears。I’m looking forward to watching th I’m so glad I read actress Tembi Locke’s book about her real life love story with her Sicilian husband before the Netflix adaptation is released （adapted by ReeseWitherspoon’s production company Hellosunshine）。This is a moving， raw and poignant examination of love， loss， grief， and the healing powers of family， food and a connection to the land and history。Be aware of trigger warnings for cancer， infertility and loss of a loved one。 I certainly shed a few tears。I’m looking forward to watching the series and it has inspired me to add Sicily to my travel bucket list。 。。。more
Devon
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i enjoyed this one ！ picked it up now because the television show is coming out in a few days and after that the waitlist would be like a million years presumably i enjoy a good memoir and this was a good memoir so
Melissa
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As the cover shows…this is a memoir all about love， loss， Sicily and finding home。 It was so raw and heartwarming， and so well written！The way Tembi described Italy， I could literally picture it， smell it， and taste the amazing dishes that Saro and Nonna would make…I even took away a few cooking tips myself 😉 I also cannot wait to attempt making some of the recipes that were included in the book - they all sound delicious！The food from Nonna’s kitchen told a story， an epic and personal story of As the cover shows…this is a memoir all about love， loss， Sicily and finding home。 It was so raw and heartwarming， and so well written！The way Tembi described Italy， I could literally picture it， smell it， and taste the amazing dishes that Saro and Nonna would make…I even took away a few cooking tips myself 😉 I also cannot wait to attempt making some of the recipes that were included in the book - they all sound delicious！The food from Nonna’s kitchen told a story， an epic and personal story of an island and a family。 It told the story of poverty， grief， love and joy。 And based on Tembi & Attica’s interview， this Netflix series does an amazing job touching on everything and showing us Tembi， Saro & Zoela’s life。I normally do not rate memoir/nonfiction books， but this one most definitely deserves 5 ⭐️’s！ 。。。more
Katie Crichton
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DNF
Sara
，
I just loved this book。 Even though it’s an autobiography/memoir， it still read like a story。 I recommend this sweet love story （maybe read it before the Netflix movie comes out - just for reference）。
Eliza J Kelly
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This book was so beautifully written。 Loved it and all the food。
Sonia
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This book was just stunning; heartbreaking， beautiful & delicious。
Beth Edelmann
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This book was beautifully written。 I’m usually not a memoir/non-fiction reader， but I loved the love behind the story。
Chantelle Fair
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Going as far as to say this is my favourite read so far for 2022。 A true story of love and lose， filled with romance and family。 I adored Tembi’s descriptions of food， culture and landscape， wrapped in her story of bringing 2 wildly different families and cultures together this book is beautiful。
Chrissy Disibio
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4。5/5 - Just the prologue alone was a beautiful depiction of love and grieving without even knowing much about the characters yet。 I could already envision the sights of Italy as well as the love lost。 The author has such a way with words - authentic and meaningful。 A beautiful tribute to her love。 A story of discovery， love， loss， and rediscovery。 “ We are destined to remake our lives at least once or twice in a lifetime。”Tembi is an African American woman who wants to be an actress but decides 4。5/5 - Just the prologue alone was a beautiful depiction of love and grieving without even knowing much about the characters yet。 I could already envision the sights of Italy as well as the love lost。 The author has such a way with words - authentic and meaningful。 A beautiful tribute to her love。 A story of discovery， love， loss， and rediscovery。 “ We are destined to remake our lives at least once or twice in a lifetime。”Tembi is an African American woman who wants to be an actress but decides to travel to Italy for a semester abroad to study art history and learn Italian。 Luckily she has a connection through a friend there with a woman who shows her the ropes。 One day they run into a man named Saro， a chef who is Sicilian。 She feels a connection with him but he isn’t her typical guy and isn’t wanting anything serious since she wants to focus on school and was used to non-committal relationships up to that point。 But he is persistent and truly nice and caring and continues showing up。 I enjoyed the Italian language used throughout the book but I did have to take a guess a certain words since it didn’t always translate。 I loved when she said “I began to see that Saro was speaking directly to me， each dish an edible love letter” during a dinner with her friends where Saro cooked for them。 The way food is tied with the love story in this book is wonderful！ It also made me very hungry。 The book goes back and forth in time each chapter but that isn’t always evident until you start reading。 I almost in a way wanted it to go in chronological order the whole way through （usually I am fine with the back and forth）。 Their love was not without struggles。 They were a biracial， bicultural bilingual couple and her mother/father （at first） and his mother/father （for a long time） weren’t necessarily happy with the pairing because of racial/cultural concerns specifically。 I loved the advice her dad gave her though， “there are many people， maybe even thousands of people， that you can love。 But there are a few people， maybe only one or two on the planet， that you can love AND live with in peace。” His family definitely took much longer to come around。 One good thing that came from Saro’s cancer was the families getting closer。It is not a spoiler that Saro dies （it is in the book description as the prologue） but I appreciated how the book weaved in and out of the before times and the after times- just when we are very sad for losing him， we are taken back to when he was still here。 I lost someone close to me very recently so I related a lot to some of the ways she described grief and disbelief of their passing。 This book while a beautiful love story also made me so sad。 “Life is fleeting， capable of bending the other way at any moment。” It was a reminder that anything can happen to anyone at anytime and meanwhile the world keeps spinning and people go about their days until perhaps it happens to them。 Warning - the chapter “Aftertastes” describes in detail his final days and moments and it can be very intense and triggering I would say if you’ve been in a similar situation。 Overall， a beautiful story of love and life and loss， and finding love and life again after loss。 A little wordy at times and found myself zoning out from time to time toward the middle/end， however I actually wish she had focused a little more on their initial love story。 I really loved a quote from the book “it’s because there was so much love that there is so much hurt” - that really stuck with me。 Also， “the randomness of life made no sense， giving and taking in equal measure” - so true。 。。。more
Ellen Clevenger
，
This book has been on my TBR for a while， but I'll be real honest， seeing the previews of the movie coming pushed it to the top of the list。 And then， I cried multiple times reading this book。 Just the depth of the relationship the author had with her husband and also the grief and survival throughout the book， it broke my heart to read it。 There was so much depth to the story and so many different facets of the journey that the author shared。 I really enjoyed it。 This book has been on my TBR for a while， but I'll be real honest， seeing the previews of the movie coming pushed it to the top of the list。 And then， I cried multiple times reading this book。 Just the depth of the relationship the author had with her husband and also the grief and survival throughout the book， it broke my heart to read it。 There was so much depth to the story and so many different facets of the journey that the author shared。 I really enjoyed it。 。。。more
Laurie
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Such a good book！ Highly recommend， gave me all the feels！
Ece
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This story of a widow’s grief was a very interesting memoire that was not only a memoire but also a very good observation of the Sicilian culture。 At some parts I felt like I was reading an anthropology book and it made this experience full of surprises。 There were some parts that made me emotional。 In the end， the author described the processes of grief and everything in between and made this an unforgettable story。
Ashley
，
All the stars。 This was such a good book。 I liked how she didn't shy away from saying how guilt， grief， and family played a role in the healing she found。 All the stars。 This was such a good book。 I liked how she didn't shy away from saying how guilt， grief， and family played a role in the healing she found。 。。。more
Shanna Klutts
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Hooked from the beginning with that first line of “In Sicily， every story begins with a marriage or a death。 In my case， it’s both。”The grief was relatable and lovely， the description of food was amazing， and the souls of those we get to meet were incredibly beautiful。 However， it made me so sad that she does not believe in a hereafter， and that colored the whole memoir more in a death shroud than in the colorful and rich tones it should have been…the colors of Italy and Sicily。 😢
Chris Witkowski
，
This is a beautifully written， heartbreaking， and at the same time joyful， memoir。 The author is 20 years old， on a year abroad in Florence， Italy， when she meets and falls in love with Saro， an Italian chef， 12 years her senior。 Their romance seems unlikely， considering that he is from Sicily， a part of Italy steeped in ritual and extreme cultural demands and taboos， and she is a black woman with deep roots in Texas。 Their decision to marry is met with utter condemnation by his father， and as a This is a beautifully written， heartbreaking， and at the same time joyful， memoir。 The author is 20 years old， on a year abroad in Florence， Italy， when she meets and falls in love with Saro， an Italian chef， 12 years her senior。 Their romance seems unlikely， considering that he is from Sicily， a part of Italy steeped in ritual and extreme cultural demands and taboos， and she is a black woman with deep roots in Texas。 Their decision to marry is met with utter condemnation by his father， and as an extension， his entire family。 Without his family's blessing， Saro and Tembi marry and settle down in LA。 Life is good， but all the time Tembi is yearning to meet with Saro's family， not only for herself， but for the sake of her husband， knowing that reconciliation with his family needs to happen。 Into the mix is an ultimately fatal cancer diagnosis for Saro。 Locke's memoir deals with so many things - love， loss， grief， family， and let's not forget food。 She crafts a vivid description of Sicily， the food grown there， the hard scrapple life of cultivating the land。 But it is her recounting of how the huge gulf between Saro and his family is forged that is at the heart of this book; her courage， and tenacity in the face of seemingly impenetrable odds， is a testament to the power of love。 I often have a hard time with memoirs， being suspicious of the writer's memories and emotions。 This is one memoir that comes across as sincere， honest and truthful。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Destanye B。
，
I was really into this book but it the ending fell flat to me。 While reading about Sicily I did think of Sophia from Golden Girls a Million times （picture it， Sicily 1938…） Check out my pros and cons below>>>>>>>>>>>>> SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT <<<<<>>>>>>>>>>Pros - I liked this beautiful story of this interracial couple who even through death love conquered the big expansion of race， culture， and distance。-I loved learning more about Nonna。 What a wonderful woman。 I knew I liked her as soon as I was really into this book but it the ending fell flat to me。 While reading about Sicily I did think of Sophia from Golden Girls a Million times （picture it， Sicily 1938…） Check out my pros and cons below>>>>>>>>>>>>> SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT <<<<<>>>>>>>>>>Pros - I liked this beautiful story of this interracial couple who even through death love conquered the big expansion of race， culture， and distance。-I loved learning more about Nonna。 What a wonderful woman。 I knew I liked her as soon as she told her husband she was going to see her son， no matter what。 - I loved hearing about the love story between Saro and Thembi。 To fall in love studying abroad — “this is what dreams are made of” —-Lizzie McGuire in Rome reference。- I liked seeing the trajectory of Zoala … her talking in Italy wanting to be apart of the traditions and really growing up as a kid with home and life in Sicily and Los Angeles Cons - I felt like we only got a piece of Sara and Thembi’s actual marriage。 I wanted to understand their love while he was still alive more before cancer was introduced。 I understand that she wanted to get to the point but still …- I thought that she would learn from Nonna how to cook the food of her husbands native land。 She basically came to Sicily to eat （not that I’m mad at that） but she didn’t really cook。 I think her cooking with Nonna would have added an extra layer of intimacy etc。 - I wanted to know what happened after that。 Does she still visit every summer？ Why did after summer 3 it felt so final？ I mean that house is now hers。 I wanted an update。 Hopefully with the movie coming out we learn more about Thembi now。 I was into this book and finished it early to compare with the film。 I feel like the film is going to tell an entirely different story more focused on the love aspect than the getting close to her in-laws and the land of Sicily。I would recommend the book to someone else。 It definitely made me want to Italian— even though all that acidity reeks acid reflux， lol。 。。。more
Brittany Mejia
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Such a beautifully written memoir - her love for her husband， her daughter， her family and Sicily。 This book touched my heart。 ♥️
Jessica
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This was a long read， but I loved it。 I’m so excited that it’s going to be adapted into a Netflix show and it’s even more special because it’s a memoir。 It covered love， life， loss， travel， food， and wisdom。 Valuable life lessons and now I want to go to Sicily。
Valerie De Pauw
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