A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White

A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White is a delicious novel about three characters who moved to New York City for various reasons, only to find themselves again through cooking inspirationally well.

Book Description

“Celebrating the healing power of food and the magic of New York City, A Place at the Table follows the lives of three seekers who come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole. A Place at the Table tells the story of three unforgettable characters whose paths converge in a storied Manhattan café: Bobby, a young gay man from Georgia who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef from North Carolina whose heritage is the basis of a renowned cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her. These characters are exiles—from homeland, from marriage, from family. While they all find companionship and careers through cooking, they hunger for the deeper nourishment of communion. As the narrative sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to Manhattan during the deadly AIDS epidemic of the 1980s to the well-heeled hamlet of contemporary Old Greenwich, Connecticut, Bobby, Amelia, and Alice are asked to sacrifice everything they ever knew or cared about to find authenticity and fulfillment.” – A Place at the Table

My Thoughts

A Place at the Table is a book that moves through different times, different characters, and different locations. Bobby, Amelia, and Alice are all people who found their true selves only after embracing what made them different. Each were forced to leave their safe surroundings in the South to move to New York City – where they found not only amazing food, but also real opportunities for personal growth.

It is an interesting story that will leave you hungry for more (pun intended). If you like food, novels, character driven stories, and of course, New York City, this is a book you’ll want to read.

* Thank you to the publisher of A Place at the Table, Touchstone, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.