Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times

"Cherries in Winter" is a beautiful book about the Suzan Colon's family history throughout different generations. It mixes recipes, with humor and sadness, history, and life lessons all through Colon's life experiences and those of her family. The recipes are simple, yet excellent as comfort food for the hard times. Hearty meatloaf, sweet cookies, savory soups all serve to keep Colon going through life with hope even after losing her dream job. The food leads to memories of her family and tales of strength through love and loss, how life is easier when filled with those that we love.

Thanks for this Suzan. I enjoyed this book so thourougly. I had been going through a rough time and was so sad due to the loss of family and felt like I was losing my memories, until I read Cherries in Winter. I went back and found old clippings and recipes from my own family. This book is heart warming and I truly enjoyed it, I would have liked more of it however. Suzan is a lovely person.

I loved this book! Suzan Colon reaches deep into her heart--and her family's history--to find comfort after being laid off from her magazine job last year. It's touching, funny (laugh out loud in many places, truly), wise, upbeat and genuine without a hint of schmaltz. It's a great read before bed or by the (virtual) fireplace: each chapter is almost like a standalone essay, the perfect bite size morsel. I haven't tackled any of the recipes yet but I hear the butter cookies (p. 95) are delicious!

I laughed, I cried, and I ran to my computer to write down my grandmother's recipe for chicken soup. This book is part memoir, part cookbook, and all fabulous. Suzan's insightful look at the way her family has stared down adversity and beaten back hopelessness is inspirational, her tone is warm and friendly, and you can practically hear the sizzle of delicious food hitting a hot, well seasoned pan just from reading the recipes. This is a fast read and would make a great gift.

This lovely little book essentially tells the story of the author's effort to seek strength through the hearty recipes passed down from a grandmother who cooked her way through a world war and the depression. Ms. Colon's warm, witty narrative voice shines though as she draws parallels between her contemporary financial difficulties and those of her ancestors, as she and her husband eat their way though the comfort food recipes her family has survived upon for generations. The stories are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always relatable. The lesson here is that the key to surviving these tough economic times doesn't lie in just looking forward; there is wisdom to be gained from those we love who have faced the same kind of challenges in the past. It's nice to know that the sense of reassurance we are all seeking these days may be in our own attic or basement, just waiting for us to find it.