Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives

Product Information

I actually finished reading the memoir part of this book a couple of weeks ago - the day I received it in fact. It’s recipes are easy to follow and adapt to suit your own tastes - it is filled with bakes you want to make (and eat) and Kitty’s casual and chatty narration is the perfect accompaniment to the recipes. the ultimatebrown butter and choc chip cookies with the perfect combination of gooey centre and crispy edges. The first part is written in two hands, between Kitty and Al (the father), describing their journey to help Kitty overcome her anxiety and their journey with the bakery as well as the two seemed to come together. Breadsong is co written by father and daughter Al and Kitty Tait and chronicles the deep dive into depression that Kitty suffered at age 14, and the desperation her parents felt at trying to help her.

I particularly liked that her dad and Kitty took turns in writing parts of the book, sometimes about similar things, sometimes about different phases of their journey. Kitty’s Instagram account is therefore a treat: full of baking goods, good humour and a lovely smile! I am so glad that this book is going to be published later this month as I am looking forward to owning my own hard copy.Like, anxiety that made going to school impossible, getting out of bed barely feasible, nothing in the world seeming worthwhile. What follows is an adventure in breadmaking with trials and tribulations, chance discoveries and serendipitous encounters. The first half tells the story of Kitty and her struggle with mental health, and how baking (introduced by her dad) lifted her out of that dark place.

just a few of the adjectives I could use to sum up this book which is oh so much more than a cookery book.

Full of worry, her parents tried everything, from new hobbies like reading and painting to medication and visits to a specialist.

For me, having also suffered from depression and anxiety as a teen (and adult), it's a pretty emotive book, and there were many tears as I read.In reading the memoir side I did feel a little bad for her older siblings during Kitty's breakdown and the beginning of her bread obsession.