The Kitchen Daughter

“So, what do you have?… Like a complex? A phobia? A Disorder?”… “A personality,” I say.

It was the common answer for her childhood, but now, with the unexpected death of her parents, Ginny Selvaggio has to explore what that means. When paralyzed by fear or discomfort she resorts to cooking, using the precise steps of caramelizing onions to bring her back to normal. And the day of her parents’ funeral she finds herself withdrawing to the kitchen to cook. Creating her Nonna’s Ribollita (bread soup) the steps and love in her grandmothers’ recipe steadies Ginny, until Nonna appears sitting on a nearby stool with a warning,“Do no let her.” The conversation is interrupted by well-meaning family members and Nonna disappears but Ginny needs answers. To complicate matters, Ginny’s sister, Amanda sees her as a burden, totally unable to care for herself and plans to sell their parents home. Ginny on the other hand has no intention of leaving the only home she has ever known. The story is at times funny and sad, as Ginny has to face her grief and learn to get along in her changed world. McHenry offers an interesting insight into the mind of a woman with Asperger Syndrome. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Lisa Genova, and Carolyn Parkhurst should give this a try.