Plano Reads: Second Tuesday Book Club returns January 12 with ‘From Scratch’

Second Tuesday Book Club begins the new year with Tembi Locke’s memoir From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home on Tuesday, January 12 at 7 p. m.

Our meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. using Zoom. You can join this Zoom session via computer or phone. (Please note that our meeting will begin at 7 p. m. and last until 8 p. m., an earlier start time than we have had in the past.) Email Cathe Spencer at cathes@plano.gov with questions; register online here.

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home is available in these formats at the library:

Print | Large Print | eBook |Audiobook | eAudiobook

Aspiring actress Tembi Locke met her future husband, Saro, a talented chef, in Florence, setting in motion a “poignant and cross-cultural love story set against the lush Sicilian countryside.”

When Saro becomes very ill, however, their life together ends, and Tembi and her daughter Zoela face a future they never expected. Their return to Saro’s beloved Sicily the next summer, however, offers them comfort and hope through family, friends, and wonderful food.

A lovely, heartwarming memoir–with recipes!– that is a love letter “to Saro, to Sicily, and to anyone who dares to build a life from scratch.”

Kirkus Reviews describes this book as a “captivating story of love lost and found, romance, wrenching loss, and healing.”

Writing on the Shelf Awareness website, Hannah Calkins says,”Tembi Locke’s resilience and persistence in the face of such loss is incredibly moving, as is her open-hearted curiosity about a place that was not, initially, especially welcoming to her … Candid, wise and with a flair for vivid metaphors, she is also a beautiful and powerful writer … And as a bonus, she animates hot, complicated, old-world Sicily with color, humor and–most importantly–flavor; readers will want to eat the meals she describes right off the page.”

Tembi Locke with Saro and Zoela (image from The Today Show)

Tembi Locke is an actress and writer now living in Los Angeles. With Zoe Saldana, who will star, and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Productions, she is currently writing and developing a Netflix limited series based on From Scratch.

Her website is here, and includes recipes and photos, a short film series, and links to other social media, including her blog, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

January 12, Second Tuesday Book Club at 7 p.m.
Register here
Join a live discussion of January’s read: From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke
Print | Large Print | eBook |Audiobook | eAudiobook

Check out previous book club titles and recommendations on the blog.

For more information about this book club and others, plus the year of book club picks, head to the Book Club page.