Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (If Disorderly) Life

One of my favorite book genres is the memoir. And one of my favorite daily emails to receive is the Zondervan Breakfast Club email from Suzanne Beecher. When I discovered Suzanne had a book coming out, I knew it was a must-read for me! Here is the synopsis of `Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy -if Disorderly - Life': In Muffins and Mayhem, Suzanne Beecher, creator of the online book club, [...] ([...]), combines her life story with 30 of her favorite recipes. With striking candor, Suzanne takes readers on a journey from her lowest moments to her greatest joys and personal victories. Suzanne writes about personal successes and failures and what each taught her about life, love, and her capacity to persevere. Scattered throughout Suzanne's memoir are favorite recipes, and each is accompanied by a personal anecdote. Suzanne believes that recipes are more than just a mix of ingredients: they're food for the soul, and she doesn't leave readers hungry. From humorous tales about avoiding her mother's liver dishes as a child (and Mom's Thanksgiving meals as an adult!) to a reverent account of how a childhood hero touched her life through frosted meat loaf, Suzanne's food-filled memoir warms the heart as well as fills the stomach. Gathering thirty wonderful recipes and the memories surrounded them, Suzanne shows us the author as a child who learned to cook when she was just eight years old while singing backup to the Monkees, a woman who struggled with difficult parents, a hardworking mom who loved making cookies for her kids, a recovering addict, and a writer who has learned much along the way by remembering that love is the most important thing in life. This beautifully written celebration of life, friends, and family will nourish Suzanne's numerous fans and those who have yet to discover her simple, homespun magic. Here is Suzanne's biography: Suzanne Beecher has owned a restaurant, founded and published a business magazine, founded a non-profit program to feed the homeless and home-schooled her youngest son. She writes a daily column at [...] and designs book clubs for publishers, booksellers, and libraries across the country. She lives with her husband, Bob, in Sarasota, Florida. Here is the engaging author explaining how to make her Whoops Banana Bread: [...] Suzanne's childhood did not include the warm memories that she wishes she had to dwell on; it affected her adult behavior: So I accepted my fate as an adult deprived of a childhood. Or at the very least an adult deprived of those warm and fuzzy memories I should have been able to tap into when I wanted to go back home in my mind. But then it occurred to me that I'd always been ambivalent about going home, anyway - not only in my mind, but in my car, too. At least it seemed that way. Whenever I planned a trip to see my parents, I'd get sick. I'm not kidding! Two or three days before I was supposed to leave, an illness would consume me: wheezing, sneezing, that all-over crummy fee

I absolutely luv this book! How's that for an opening line? I had a wonderful relationship myself with my paternal grandparents, which helps me to relate to the author's relationship with her grandparents, and living in small town Americana myself as a child, makes this book a special reminisce read for me in some respects. My grandmother would always make sure at-least weekly, some "goodie" was baked for the family to enjoy. As a child, I remember sitting around their kitchen table and talking about whatever came to mind, while snacking on the yummy treats, and also sometimes listening to the Kitchen-Klatter radio recipe broadcast. (showing my age.. most of you probably won't remember that) Get the tissue box handy, because you will laugh, cry, and I bet you will relate to one or more "events" while sharing the journey with Muffins & Mayhem. The author has brilliantly combined her down-home memoir writing along with sharing her recipes and tips. It truly is a smorgasbord to indulge in! You can check out the complete Review here... [...]

Suzanne's storytelling gift is her ability to seize the smallest details of daily living and empower them with universal truths and appeal. Yes. You will laugh out loud at her zany moments (vacuuming up roaches, getting earrings stuck in her teeth), but you will cry, too, because underneath it all, Suzanne recognizes that painful, embarrassing moments are opportunities for deeper revelations about complex family relationships and, ultimately, how we perceive ourselves. I loved this book.

It's not the usual "I laughed, I cried.." It's more like, I related, I sobbed, I was reminded that life is what you make of it. Suzanne is not only a new favorite author but a life coach and I count it an honor to know her - and now to know her story. Her life and how she writes about it's trials and joys has forever changed my views on my own life. And for that, I am grateful.

Suzanne Beecher's voice is so unique, personal and heartfelt--there's no one else like her. One of the reasons [...] has been so successful is her daily columns, and this book brings the same immediacy, fun-loving nature and wisdom to each and every page. Life is big, messy and full of the unexpected, and Suzanne's message is all about enjoying what comes with her trademark energy and enthusiasm. I loved it and you will too.