Synopses & Reviews
Writing with a delicate balance of humor and truth, critically acclaimed author Rebecca Barry reflects on motherhood, work, and marriage in her new memoir about trying to build a creative life.
When Rebecca Barry and her husband moved to upstate New York to start their family, they wanted to be surrounded by natural beauty but close to a small urban center, doing work they loved, and plenty of time to spend with their kids. But living their dreams turned out not to be so simple: the lovely old house they bought had lots of character but also needed lots of repairs, they struggled to stay afloat financially, their children refused to sleep or play quietly, and the novel Rebecca had dreamed of writing simply wouldn’t come to her.
Recipes for a Beautiful Life blends heartwarming, funny, authentically told stories about the messiness of family life, a fearless examination of the anxieties of creative work, and sharp-eyed observations of the pressures that all women face. This is a story of a woman confronting her deepest fears: What if I’m a terrible mother? What if I’m not good at the work I love? What if my children never eat anything but peanut butter and cake? What if I go to sleep angry? It’s also a story of the beauty, light, and humor that’s around us, all the time—even when things look bleak, and using that to find your way back to your heart.
Mostly, though, it is about the journey to building not just a beautiful life, but a creative one.
Review
"Barry's writes about writing, while balancing two children with her other arm. It's raw and true, heartbreaking and naked. And in the end it's the story of all of us who strive and settle, grunt and bear it, while still managing to laugh. Which is easy, cause Barry is sly and very, very funny."
Review
“Rebecca Barry looks straight at her life and describes it—sometimes hilariously, sometimes movingly. Her generosity of spirit makes for an engaging, wise, and delightful read.”
Review
“A solid addition to the growing genre of short, witty essays written by women about having a career while trying to raise a family.”
Review
“Spontaneous dinners with good friends, soul-searching through meditation and yoga, and hilarious snippets of child rearing—all come alive in Barry’s memoir, which the reader will relish.”
Review
“Dip in and out without missing a beat or the message: Contentment isn’t about getting everything…but finding magic in the mess”
Review
“Unblinking honesty and bright humor . . . [Barry’s] book is refreshing and hopeful, yet not afraid to examine moments of despair . . . warm, authentic, and funny. She manages somehow to be truthful about parenthood without falling into treacle or sanctimony. An expert at vignettes, she easily conjures up the people in her life and the various moods of our landscape.”
Review
“Writing with a delicate balance of humor and truth, critically acclaimed author Rebecca Barry reflects on motherhood, work, and marriage in her new memoir about trying to build a creative life.”
Review
“This book will bring a welcome dose of brightness--leavened with acerbic wit--to those who, like Barry, are simply trying to do worthwhile work and care for the people they love.”
Review
“Recipes is anecdotal, funny and telling, with the kinds of momentary glimpses of ordinary days that reflect something larger — and funny. Did I mention funny?”
Review
There is just no way I could pack everything I love about Barry’s book into this small space, so I’ll just say—with firmness and a little catch of emotion in my voice—you need to go discover her writing for yourself. Don’t make me reach through the internet, grab you by the collar and drag you down to a bookstore to buy Recipes for a Beautiful Life, because you know I’m currently reading a how-to manual on how to do just that very thing.”
Review
“This woman was me. Somehow, she had reached inside my heart and revealed myself to me, told my story far better than I ever could.”
Review
"This is not a parenting book, but those who are in the thick of early motherhood will appreciate this book, this Not-A-How-To-How-To collection of stories that expose the sordid details of marriage and parenthood, the ones that lie behind the scenes of a life that seems romantic and wonderful and magical to everyone else. And the stories are funny because they are true. I know Rebecca Barry. I am Rebecca Barry. I know dozens of Rebecca Barrys. We Rebecca Barrys dream a world of farm shares, starlit summer skies, neighborhood coffeeshops, family nearby, friends at the ready with wine and cheese and bread and company."
Synopsis
Sex and the Country follows lovesick advice columnist Linda Hartley in this accessible literary novel set in upstate New York.
Synopsis
• Critical success: Rebecca Barry’s first novel,
Later, at the Bar, was a
New York Times Notable Book of the Year, received enthusiastic feedback from booksellers across the country, and the hardcover was chosen as a Fall 2007 Book Sense Reading Group Pick. Having published extensively in both literary journals and women’s magazines, Barry has a following among authors, including #1
New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert, who calls Barry “an artist of everyday heartbreak.”
• The continuing story of Linda Hartely: Drunk Lady Advice, from the Desk of Linda Hartley is the story of a year in the life of lovelorn advice columnist Linda Hartley. Looking to escape the big city and her own dismal romance, she returns to her hometown in upstate New York. She finds a barstool waiting for her at Lucy’s Tavern, along with a cast of familiar barflies, including attractive wastrel Austin Jones. As Linda herself says, hers “is a love story, not just with a person (or several people, as the case may be and usually is), but with a place and a time. It is the story of Linda Hartley, patron saint of the lonely-hearted, who lost her way, found a home, and also found her voice.”
About the Author
Rebecca Barry is the bestselling author of Recipes for a Beautiful Life: A Memoir in Stories and Later, at the Bar: A Novel in Stories, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Her nonfiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Magazine, Seventeen, Real Simple, Food and Wine, Saveur, More, O, The Oprah Magazine, Hallmark, and The Best American Travel Writing 2003. Her fiction has appeared in Ploughshares, One Story, Tin House, Ecotone, The Mid-American Review, Best New American Voices 2005, and was shortlisted in Best American Short Stories 2000, 2004, and 2009. She is also a writing coach, and cofounder of the magazine Fresh Dirt.