Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home

Kim Sunee has magnificently written an intimate and engaging account of her search for self-identity, a rewarding life of her own making, and a place to belong and call home. Born in South Korea, Kim was abandoned by her mother at age 3. Soon, she was adopted by an American couple and raised in New Orleans, but she felt as if she never really fit in. Twenty years later, Kim is living in France with her famous, multi-millionaire beau. Theirs is a luxurious lifestyle accented by travel and entertaining, showcasing her talent as a chef. Many years later, feeling smothered by his controlling nature, Kim leaves him to forge a life of her own. Through it all, food is the anchor in her life and she feels most at home in the kitchen. Most chapters end with personal recipes which are tied to her bittersweet memories. "Trail of Crumbs" is emotionally candid, compelling and very thoughtfully written. The evocative descriptions and glorious details drew me into a number of countries, their cultures and into her culinary experiences. There is a message for everyone in this absorbing memoir. Ms. Sunee inspires me to live my life as fully as I can, while still maintaining my own identity. I truly loved this captivating book. It's a really wonderful read and I highly recommend it!

I first must say that this book seized me like no other in recent memory. Had I had the time, I would have read it in one sitting. I finished it in couple of days. It had that special power of a book to draw you into a world that you just did not want to leave. That world is many things in this book. Above all, it is Kim Sunee's ability to be both vulnerable and intelligent at the same time, turning the searchlight on herself without artifice or posturing. Of course, it is also France and the French, the ability of this great people to live sensuously, with great passion, with great truth. It is delight in the cuisines of our lives and moments, a sensitivity and presence to the poetry of food and nourishment, wherever you happen to be. As such, it says a lot more about being in the moment than countless self-help type books. It is in a big way about the search for love and how it is the search for Self. As a man who has never read a romance novel in his life, this drew me in, because the author exposes in herself the same foundational cracks we all share as human beings. The doubts, the search for a haven. This book reads like a dream. It flows effortlessly, and is quite poetic at times. But the poetry of her prose as she plumbs anxieties and caresses food, is never forced. It lifts the narrative to higher sensitivity and deeper passion, as her search hurtles on. We are all struggling to the light. I am glad this terrific read has been part of my journey.

My friend is crazy about this book and told me I must read - so I picked it up and am quite glad that she turned me on to it, as this is one of the BEST books I have seen come out in a long time. Engaging memoir, evocative writing and mouth watering visions - now I am the one who is telling people to read it, and it inspired me to write my first review!

This gorgeously written memoir explores what happens when the fairy tale isn't enough. Kim, abandoned by her mother in Korea, adopted in New Orleans, falls in love with a rich, powerful Parisian. There is of course an age difference along with differences in temperament. There is also a powerful, beautifully described love between them with all its dramas, complications, ecstasies and heartbreak. For many women, especially those abandoned like Kim, this fairy tale romance would have been the end of the story. In fact, I found myself saying "please make it work, you've had a tough time." But that is what makes this such an interesting, honest story. In Kim's hands, anyway, the territory beyond the rainbow is as exotic and compelling as the rainbow itself. The recipes (I'm no chef) add a touch of light irony. There are these big relationship and identity questions, and yet, everybody needs to eat. And how beautifully she describes the food and recipes! This is one of the best reads I've had in a long time.

I picked this book up on a weekend and devoured it greedily, but "Trail of Crumbs" should be slowly savored. In a compelling and honest voice, Ms. Sunee drew me into her world and her search on several continents for an identity that was truly hers. Abandoned at three in her native South Korea, she has no real "place" or "family" from which to develop a sense of self. The story of her transforming relationships from the bayous of Louisiana to the lush countryside of France is an exploration of what identity is and what it means. It's a journey well worth making with Ms. Sunee.