Reichl, Ruth. Tender At The Bone. Ebury Digital, 2011. 

Tender at the Bone follows the food writer and restaurant critic Ruth Reichl through her upbringing with food.Going along with Reichl through her childhood and into young adulthood, the reader grows with the storyteller: eating what she eats, tasting what she tastes, feeling what she feels. Telling a story of love and loss, Reichl’s memoir is a love letter to the ways that food can both unite and divide people.

This book demonstrates just how powerful the combination of food and storytelling can be. A grounding force in Reichl’s life, the two are major themes in the book, becoming tools that keep her afloat. Peppered with important recipes, Tender at the Bone demonstrates the way that food can be like markers in our lives, defining certain moments and feelings. This memoir was a really good example of how one can speak about their experiences with food throughout their lives without it being overtly about food, prompting the reader to think about their own food experiences. Reichl’s writing is easy to read and friendly, giving the memoir a feeling of taking to a friend rather than a formal reading.

Tender at the Bone shows the ways food can unite and divide people. Coming from the perspective of a Jewish woman, Reichl’s experiences with food are similar to many Jews. Food is a means of communication and connection, a marker that defines experiences and relationships. Tender at the Bone shows just how important food can be to the events and relationships that sustain us.