For the Love of Butter: "My Life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

At the beginning of the year I decided that February would have the theme of books about love. I'm not particularly fond of the holiday Valentine's Day, in the sense that it's supposedly the one day a year your significant other is suddenly the best lover you've ever had and showers you with gifts and chocolate. Not a fan! However, I enjoy focusing on love during February because it helps me remember how many people I love every day of the year and why.  When I was choosing my selection of books to review, I remembered that I had purchased the autobiography of Julia Child at a garage sale last summer. I was familiar with the love story of Julia and her husband Paul, as well as her love for good food (and lots of butter) so I decided to include "My Life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. For the most part I prefer fiction over non-fiction for leisurely reading, but this was a book I really wanted to read and I was glad I made an exception.

Paul and Julia Child were quite the couple.  They both had extremely successful careers prior to meeting, but they were so supportive of each other's careers after they were married.  There was a lot of give and take in their relationship and at the end of the day it was all about making each other happy.  The decision to move to Paris was made so that Paul could further his career with the United States government. When they arrived in Paris, Julia didn't know how to speak French or have friends to turn to when she was lonely.  In spite of these circumstances, she decided to make the most of it and started taking cooking classes at the prestigious cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu. Little did she know that the decision to learn how to embrace France through cooking would be life-altering on so many levels.

Julia had the BEST sense of humor.  It took me a little bit longer to read this book because I had to stop and mark funny passages.  It didn't take long for me to pick up on her immense love for any cuisine with unholy amounts of butter.  It made me laugh when she would talk trash about margarine. Here are a few examples of my favorite bits of wisdom  (both funny and inspiring) throughout the book:

Travel we agreed, was a litmus test: if we could make the best of the chaos and serendipity that we'd inevitably meet in transit, then we'd surely be able to sail through the rest of life together just fine. So far, we'd done pretty well. I love this! My personal philosophy on picking a spouse is this: if you can survive a road trip that includes camping then MARRY THEM. But, seriously, it doesn't get any more authentic than roadies and camping.

There were times I had a penetrating question to ask, or a fine point that burned inside of me, and I simply wasn't able to make myself heard. All this had the effect of making me work even harder. Julia shared this about her time at Le Cordon Bleu.  I can relate to this personally.  Much of what I've learned in my career about social media and marketing has been self-taught.  Social media didn't exist when I was in college and I knew I needed to learn it to succeed in my career. Making that decision to teach myself opened up a lot of windows and doors to great adventures that continue to happen.

The sweetness and generosity and politeness and gentleness and humanity of the French had shown me how lovely life can be if one takes time to be friendly.  I posted this quote on my social media outlets when I was reading the book because it was just too awesome not to share immediately.  Throughout the book, Julia spoke very highly of the locals who helped her learn the language, the art of cooking and the culture.  She found great solace in befriending individuals who were local versus other Americans who were living in France while working for the government.  She craved variety in all forms of life and looked forward to meeting interesting people and learning something new every day of her life.

We looked at each other and repeated a favorite phrase from our diplomatic days: 'Remember, no one's more important than people!' In other words, friendship is the most important thing--not career or housework, or one's fatigue--and it needs to be tended and nurtured. So we packed our bags and off we went. This quote was referring to a last minute trip they made to Paris while living in southern France.  One thing is for sure, Paul and Julia Child treasured their relationships with everyone.  In spite of polar differences in political views with Julia's parents, they still made the effort to visit her family in California as often as they could. They always made time for those they loved most.  It was sweet to read about the different experiences they had with various family and friends.

The last theme I want to showcase is the will to never give up.  Julia had a great deal of courage and hope in the face of struggle. She married late in life and in spite of great efforts she and Paul could never have children of their own. It was something that she struggled with, but she also found ways to enjoy life and her relationship with Paul. They were there for each other and buoyed each other up when the struggles were real. The road to being a published cookbook author and TV superstar was NOT easy, but she never gave up and kept adjusting her sails to withstand the storm of life.  It was so inspiring to read her accounts of not giving up.

My recommended reading group would be age 12 and above.  It's a great biography with lots of amazing history and details about France. She also uses a lot of French words throughout the book so if you're wanting to learn or practice your Français, then this is a great book for that as well!

The moral of the story: When in doubt always buy extra butter. You never know when the perfect recipe will surface and a good cook must always be armed and ready. Oh, and....don't give up. Bon Appetit!

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R



Other Books by Julia Child

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