Celia at 39
by Jason Pomerance
5/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Celia Bernhart, almost 39, thinks her life is all planned. She has a successful career selling pharmaceuticals. She's engaged to marry her longtime fiancé, a doctor. Then a package unexpectedly shows up at her door -mailed nearly forty years earlier, along with a sealed note from a daughter to her mother. Celia decides to deliver the package and a delicious adventure of self-discovery ensues.
Jason Pomerance spins a wonderful tale, in a fast, fun read. I loved the story of Celia, and there were so many great nuanced details that were clearly well researched. The BBQ details in particular really resonated for me. Even the many small steps involved in properly building a fire for a smoker (which I have personally done many times and learned from a real pitmaster) rang 100% true. The reader can easily see the iconic car that figures into the story in their minds eye, and its eventual transformation. Celia’s “work uniform” is easy to picture, including her made-up face vs. her more laid-back self once she meets the grandson of the person who originally mailed the mystery package.
I really felt like I wanted to take a vacation down to the BBQ shack in Macon and eat Belle’s biscuits for breakfast after reading this book. (We won’t even start on Daisy’s Coconut cake!)
The food descriptions are so good I can’t believe I didn’t gain 5 lbs. just reading it.
But, as good as the food descriptions are, the descriptions of the action going on around Celia, are awesome. There is a scene where she goes for a night-time dip in a river, and you can almost feel the water and see the steam coming off the bodies.
In the long run, this is a story about listening to your heart, and finding second chances, and you should absolutely take a chance on this book and author!
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