Feast of a Lifetime: Sara's Story

Feast of a Lifetime is a cookbook written in the form of a biography. As the title implies, the book contains a unique collection of recipes and cooking tips that will assist the culinary enthusiast in preparing a diverse repertoire of fabulous international dishes. The recipes emphasize Italian cooking, as they were accumulated by two generations of Italian women. The narrative tells the story of one of those women, the author's mother, Sara, who faced extraordinary challenges as a young adult. By the age of 25, Sara's mother had passed away, her son had been born with problems, her husband was unfaithful, and she had become the sole caretaker of her paralyzed father. With Sara's courage, combined with her sense of adventure and humor, she overcame those challenges to lead a fascinating life. Sara was lost in a revolution in Baghdad, lived in a haunted house in Brazil, and was later caught in an avalanche in Peru. With these and many other stories, the title of the book takes on a secondary meaning: Sara's lifetime itself was a feast--a feast of experiences.