Katy Carr of What Kay Did. Cassie Logan of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Maya Angelou of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Esperanza Ortega of Esperanza Rising.
All these literary heroines have one thing in common: food. They love food, make food, serve food, eat food. And each one, plus many more, is included in the book Eat Like a Heroine: Nourish and Flourish with Bookish Stars from Anne of Green Gables to Zora Neale Hurston, which released in August.
Lorilee Craker, former entertainment writer for The Grand Rapids Press who now writes for Local Spins, is coauthor of Eat Like a Heroine with Jenny Williams, owner of Etsy’s Carrot Top Paper Shop. Williams lives in Oklahoma City and drew the cover and inside artwork for the book.
“Five years ago, I was reading the newspaper and saw a story about The Jane Austen Diet. The words ‘eat like a heroine’ came to me at that moment as a book that I wanted to write with Jenny,” recalls Craker. “Next thing you know I’m on a plane to Oklahoma City. We brainstormed, planned and outlined the book. The book as it is today is pretty much as we planned it back in 2019.”
The pair met via Instagram and their love for all things Anne of Green Gables (Craker is also author of Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What Me Favorite Book Taught Me about Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All.) Williams’ tagline for Carrot Top Paper Shop is “Be the Heroine of Your Life,” which resonated with Craker.
Eat Like a Heroine offers eleven ways to up our food game, from picnicking like a heroine, eating locally-sourced food, using food as an extension of hospitality, celebrating holidays with food, and offering comfort food during times of duress or illness. Each chapter includes a recipe—some super easy, some more elaborate—to take your heroine eating and cooking to the next level.
“The book answers the question of what do our most beloved authors teach us about nourishing ourselves. Most of us are not just readers, but feeders. The book speaks into how we feed the people we love, not just ourselves,” said Craker.
Researching and writing Eat Like a Heroine brought a few surprises. One is that almost every classic book contained references to currants (remember the currant wine debacle in Anne of Green Gables?), something we don’t see or use today. Craker also found interesting differences in how we eat now. For instance, Amy March in Little Women wanted to serve her friends a delicacy: chicken salad. She was bored with the same old lobster salad, something we here in Michigan would consider a treat.
“Jenny and I both brought our strengths,” said Craker. “Her strength is that she’s into research. Also, I’m all about the cooking hacks and shortcuts and she’s more of a chef. My recipes have four or five ingredients, hers can be quite complicated.”
Eat Like a Heroine has it all for readers eager to cook, eat, and be the heroine of her own life. “We feel disconnected from the books we read as a child,” said Craker. “Maybe we feel too old, but the book reconnects us with those books that nourish us in our spirits and nourish us with food.”
Find Eat Like a Heroine at local bookstores and online. For all things literary heroine—from stickers to mugs to postcards to prints—visit Williams’ Etsy shop Carrot Top Paper Shop.
Facebook Comments