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A fresh week is here, and my horoscope said today was going to “drain me.” Umm… great, can’t wait. I had a productive weekend, but I feel like anytime you set out to be productive on the weekend, you end up feeling exhausted on a Monday.
But, that’s alright. I’ve got coffee.
As I was getting things done this weekend, I listened to “Love, Loss, and What We Ate” by Padma Lakshmi.
I recognize Lakshmi from Bravo’s “Top Chef” — a cooking competition show that I’ve watched every second of all 18 seasons.
Lakshmi is the host and one of the judges on the show, but admittedly, I always wondered how she fit in. She was a famous model, so, what did she know about food?
Well, that’s why I was excited to listen to her book, so I could understand her story. And, I’m so glad I did.
Turns out, Lakshmi had imposter syndrome about being on “Top Chef,” when she started, but she’s grown to understand her importance on the show. She does have a bit of a past in cooking, having published cookbooks and lived through her own Indian culture of foods of different kinds.
She’s also traveled the world — sometimes through her work as a model and sometimes via adventures with men in her life — and ate all sorts of exotic meals.
The book talks a lot about “Top Chef” of course, but it also discusses her journey with endometriosis and fertility, which I found refreshing, as these are topics usually avoided.
She’s very open about her marriage, her divorce, and her love life thereafter.
There is discussion of loss (obviously, given the title), so i’m offering a trigger warning of terminal cancer, but I won’t say anymore.
It’s a tough topic for me and I almost stopped listening, but the rest of the book was so good that I kept on listening — and I’m so glad I did.
I’d definitely recommend this for any “Top Chef” fan, of course, but also for anyone coping with endometriosis and infertility.
What are you reading right now?
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