Love, Loss, and What We Ate: Book Blog Post #1

The first thing I noticed about Padma Lakshmi, only a few pages into her book Love, Loss, and What We Ate, is how skilled she is at being vulnerable with her writing. She’s not afraid to tell it how it is, even if it’s uncomfortable for her or doesn’t paint herself in the best light. Her transformation from being the mistress to the wife of Salman Rushdie is as captivating as it is uncomfortable and sad to read about. Her reflection is deeply personal. Empathizing with a man who refuses to do so for you must be heartbreaking. Reading about his heartlessness when she has a serious medical condition to me seems unforgivable. Padma, however, has the maturity to see where he’s coming from, something that I probably would be unable to do.

Once you get deeper into the book, the content becomes lighter in a sense - she steps backward and describes her childhood. As tragic as some of her stories as an immigrant child to America are, she also describes many happy memories. The book feels honest because of this nuance. Not everything is happy, and not everything is sad. To Padma, it seems like things are the way they are, and her feelings about them are the same way: they are the way they are.

Finally, I’ve really enjoyed her inclusion of several recipes. I’m especially interested in trying the kumquat and ginger chutney. As a kid I remember biting into kumquats just as Padma did, feeling the acidic yet bitter burn of the fruit on my tongue. However, the sauce seems like it would be delicious - just enough kumquat for nostalgia and flavor, in a delicious Indian recipe. Including these gives her stories even greater meaning. When she describes cooking these delicious recipes, she gives you the power to do the same thing yourself.