Bread & Wine: Finding Community and Life Around the Table

Pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy the friendship and hospitality found around Niequist’s table. The author of Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet serves up portions of friendship, family, and faith, with sides of humor, insight, and favorite recipes, for a satisfying read that can double as a group study. (A discussion guide and recommended readings are tucked in the back of the book, with recipes and a sample menu for book/cooking clubs.) Niequist writes with vulnerability and honesty that make the reader hunger to be one of the friends and family members who grace her table. Struggles with getting pregnant, juggling family and career, and making time for deep friendships are among the life events discussed against the backdrop of meals. Cooking enthusiasts, whether they are experienced or are novices, will enjoy the talk about food and will want to try the recipes featured at the end of each chapter. Yet while recipes for bacon-wrapped dates and dark chocolate sea-salted butter toffee sound yummy, the emphasis is more on spiritual nourishment and how God feeds hungry souls through relationships. (Mar. 26)