Who writes essays about recovering from a relationship combined with canning recipes? Debbie Bell does, in her book Blue Jelly: Love Lost and the Lessons of Canning. And she manages to make it work in this small volume that makes one want to dig out the canning supplies from the basement.
Bell was a writer for Rolling Stone and other magazines. She found herself adrift after a bad relationship. During her recovery she started canning cause it was one thing - if you follow directions - "these steps take you to what you planned on. You become a person in a world in which things turn out the way you thought they would."
The book reminds me a little of Eat, Pray, Love - lots of weighty issues distilled with simple truths, but with a lot more humor and without all the pathos and angst. And some jelly recipes in between. Try it - it is a fast read (it is a tiny book!), but a very good one. I'm hoping we see some more of her writing.
Flowers and bee
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