The Kitchen Congregation [Hardcover]

At the risk of sounding sexist, it's impossible to imagine a man writing this book. Nora Seton's warm, savoury memoir is unmistakably female in its blend of forthright physical details, painstaking analysis of intricate personal relations and intellectual musings. In this, the author mirrors her beloved mother, novelist Cynthia Propper Seton: "The human spirit required complications, she said, places to go and not go, ascent and descent, stone walls and smooth paths to organise itself. She explained all this while peeling carrots." Writing with downright elegance that always delivers the unexpected phrase or insight, Seton explores the kitchen's meaning for women as the centre of the home--the place where friends gather to drink coffee and share secrets, where children stand on overturned salad bowls to reach knives, where the evening news is absorbed while drinking wine and chopping onions. Seton's memories of her mother's slow death from cancer and the stillbirth of her first child are poignant but never depressing, because she conveys such a palpable sense of life as a process of experiences that may wound or rejoice but always enrich the soul. --Wendy Smith

In this beautifully written book Nora Seton writes about the lessons of life learned in a mother's kitchen. Told in tales from the kitchen, the place where women congregate, particularly mothers and daughters, still, after years of broken traditions and new professional opportunities, Nora Seton conveys in dazzling prose the rich dialogues between women, the shared comfort of motherhood, the bewilderment of men, and even favourite recipes - coded love messages handed down through the generations. Through Nora we enter the lives of five women, spanning several generations, all of whom are the beacons of her life. Most prominent is Nora's mother, an intuitive and discerning cook, who died of cancer. This loss and that of the author's first-born daughter are the experiences that have most profoundly affected Nora. In some ways this book is about finding a resting place for those lost loved ones. Moving, honest and extremely heartfelt, The Kitchen Congregation is a book for every mother and every daughter.

'This book is a delight...'
We have received the following endorsement from Elisabeth Luard which I think sums up this beautiful book perfectly:

'This book is a delight - moving, redemptive, loving - shaped by sorrow, infused by joy. The story of all women who have ever endured the pain of loss - of a mother, a child; of those who have found consolation in the companionship of the kitchen table, redemption in the acceptance of everyday reality... Intricately woven, the quality of the writing is as fine and strong as new linen, stitched and pressed and seamless. Comfort-food for the soul - read, digest and be thankful.' Elisabeth Luard

Nora Seton grew up in Massachusetts and studied art history and classics at Harvard. She then worked as a farmer and in the grain and cattle industries. She is 37 and married with two children.