Paula Deen: It Ain't All about the Cookin'

Courageously honest, downright inspiring, and just a little bit saucy, Paula shares the highs and lows of her life in the inimitable charming and irreverent style that you know from her television shows and personal appearances. She talks about long childhood summers spent in a bathing suit and roller skates and hard years living in the back of her father's gas station; a buzzing high school social life of sleepovers, parties, cheerleading, and boys; and a difficult marriage. The death of her beloved parents precipitated a debilitating agoraphobia that crippled her for years. But even when the going got tough, Paula never lost the good grace and sense of humor that would eventually help carry her to success and stardom. Of course, you can't get by on charm alone: as Paula has learned, you need plenty of willpower, hard work, and, above all, the love and support of family and friends to finance, sustain, and run a successful restaurant.

In each chapter, Paula shares new recipes: there's serious comfort food like her momma's Chocolate-Dippy Doughnuts, Courage Chili for when you know life's going to get tough, Sexy Oxtails for seducing that special someone, and the recipe for her new mother-in-law's Banana Nut Delight Cake that Paula finally got just right. And you'll love the never-before-seen photos of her family.

In this memoir, Paula Deen speaks as frankly and intimately as few women in the public eye have ever dared. Whether she's telling tales of good times or bad, her story is proof that the old-fashioned American dream is alive and kicking, and there still is such a thing as a real-life happy ending.

• A superstar Author - Paula Deen is an American icon. She is one of the most popular hosts on the Food Network and with more than 6 million books in print, an expanding restaurant empire, her own line of furniture, cookware, and tableware, Paula’s fame and retail power will only continue to grow..

• Rags-to-riches, the real Paula Deen: Starting with only $200 and plenty of faith and courage, Paula achieved success beyond her wildest dreams. She speaks to readers as frankly about her struggles along the way, including her difficult first marriage and her battle with agoraphobia. .

• Fairy tale marriage: Paula gives all the details on the romance with tugboat captain Michael Groover that ?captured the hearts of fans across the country. .

• A superstar Author - Paula Deen is an American icon. She is one of the most popular hosts on the Food Network and with more than 6 million books in print, an expanding restaurant empire, her own line of furniture, cookware, and tableware, Paula’s fame and retail power will only continue to grow..

• Rags-to-riches, the real Paula Deen: Starting with only $200 and plenty of faith and courage, Paula achieved success beyond her wildest dreams. She speaks to readers as frankly about her struggles along the way, including her difficult first marriage and her battle with agoraphobia. .

• Fairy tale marriage: Paula gives all the details on the romance with tugboat captain Michael Groover that ?captured the hearts of fans across the country. .

Contents

Foreword

1 Terror with No Name

2 Something Smells Good

3 On Not Listening to Yo' Momma

4 How Do You Get to Be a Woman of Substance When Your World's Fallin' Apart?

5 The Terror Did Have a Name

6 The Bag Lady

7 The Bottoming Out and the New Beginning

8 What I Did for Love

9 The Lady and Sons

10 Sharing Recipes

11 Love on a Tug: Michael

12 How I Got My Own Television Show, and It Wasn't No Desperate Housewives

13 Backstage Secrets and a Weddin' to Beat All

14 Blend. Don't Mix, Stir, or Beat

15 Food, Glorious Food, Southern Style

16 So You Want to Own a Restaurant?

17 Scenes from a Life: Growth, Cameron, Mr. Jimmy, Bubba, and Me

18 Southern Comfort: Things I've Learned

Index