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

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

by Suzan Colon (Goodreads Author)

3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 · rating details · 539 ratings · 185 reviews

What is the secret to finding hope in hard times?

When Suzan Colón was laid off from her dream job at a magazine during the economic downturn of 2008, she needed to cut her budget way, way back, and that meant home cooking. Her mother suggested, “Why don’t you look in Nana’s recipe folder?” In the basement, Suzan found the tattered treasure, full of handwritten and meticulo...more

Hardcover, 199 pages

Published November 3rd 2009 by Doubleday (first published October 28th 2009)

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Feb 18, 2010 Marcia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, x2010, gave_away

When times get tough, Suzan Colon's family puts up soup. This reminder from her mother sent Suzan to the basement to look for her grandmother's treasure trove of recipes. What she found was "something more than a collection of recipes--she had found the key to her family's survival through hard times."

Many of the thoughts and fears expressed by Ms. Colon rang true. I didn't put up soup, but there was a pot of beef stew to lend comfort of my first day of imposed leisure.

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Jan 18, 2010 Tattered Cover Book Store added it

Shelves: jackie-recommends, staff-recommends, indie-next-noteables

Jackie says:

This reads a little like sitting in the attic with your best friend going through a box of your great grandma's old recipes, filling her in on the stories that went along with the memories of those dishes. Puzzling over faded hand-writing and laughing at some of the ingredients that haven't seen a store shelf in years. That's the kind of chatty intimacy this slim book has--as well as fabulous recipes. Colon's family has always used the comfort of good, but practical, food to get them...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times is written by Suzan Colon, a writer who lost her job in the recent recession and is struggling (well, kind of) to make ends meet. During her newly-found free time, she studied up on her family history and discovered a bunch of recipes her grandmother had typed up.

This inspired her to cook more, and in doing this she feels a lot better about her finances, health, and in the connection she is making with the past. I liked the family his...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cherries in Winter has as its subtitle, My family's recipe for hope in hard times. That should tell you everything you need to know about this wonderful book. As heartwarming a book as can be, reading this will make you feel like you can get through anything life throws at you. I began reading it going from Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ on the ferry and finished it the same day on the ride back.

Colon has written a memoir from the heart. Beginning with her layoff, which has become all too familiar in...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Raquel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: january, food, nonfiction

This is an enjoyable albeit brief memoir that leaves the reader wishing there were more to it. The author finds herself laid off from a cushy magazine job during the recent 2008 economic crisis and realizes that she and her husband need to start living frugally. She draws upon her own family's history as a way to take inspiration in weathering her own hard times. Her family have been experts at dealing with financial hardship and she takes comfort in knowing that this skill is something almost b...more This is an enjoyable albeit brief memoir that leaves the reader wishing there were more to it. The author finds herself laid off from a cushy magazine job during the recent 2008 economic crisis and realizes that she and her husband need to start living frugally. She draws upon her own family's history as a way to take inspiration in weathering her own hard times. Her family have been experts at dealing with financial hardship and she takes comfort in knowing that this skill is something almost bred into her genetic makeup. Using a file of her Nana's recipes and stories told to her by her mother, she pieces together her family's history and how they survived economic hardship, mainly by telling amusing and charming stories of how they stretched out their meals and still managed to live in a way that didn't make them feel poor.

The "hard times" the author experiences are nothing like the ones her mother and grandmother, and even she as a child, experienced however. The stories about her upbringing and family history are more interesting than the stories in her present, though she does weave them together well. And there are moments in her current life that remind me of my own. I too wear layers of clothing while working at home to keep the heating costs down. And I too was initially horrified when her husband came home with $70 worth of groceries that were only enough for one meal. And really, is it THAT awful to brown-bag your lunch? But she makes a good point that sometimes we need to splurge and indulge ourselves, precisely at moments when we can't financially afford to, in order to make ourselves feel whole and nourished and revitalized.

Overall I enjoyed the book and it reminded me that many of us are "genetically" ready to take on hard times (my family, like hers, has endured incredible hardships and come out fine in the end). I just wish it had been longer and fleshed out with more tales from her family's past, as they truly were entertaining to read. This book would have benefited from a more in-depth, less "magazine essay" treatment--delving deeply into how we overcome difficulties in our lives is a complex and meaty subject, but the short treatment made it feel somewhat glossed over. I would have preferred a more solid story rather than a collection of anecdotes. (less)

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Oct 18, 2011 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, 2011

2.5 stars. This is a memoir about the author's experience getting laid off from her job and, trying to save money, learning to cook by going through her grandmother's old recipe file. Interspersed with the (short) stories about the author's kitchen adventures are tales about her grandmother and other relatives coping with hard times.

This was an extremely quick read. The book was only a little over 200 pages and had fat margins, large spacing, and a lot of old recipes taking up even more space. I...more 2.5 stars. This is a memoir about the author's experience getting laid off from her job and, trying to save money, learning to cook by going through her grandmother's old recipe file. Interspersed with the (short) stories about the author's kitchen adventures are tales about her grandmother and other relatives coping with hard times.

This was an extremely quick read. The book was only a little over 200 pages and had fat margins, large spacing, and a lot of old recipes taking up even more space. It felt like I was reading one long magazine article that was somehow stretched into a book.

The author's lifestyle before getting laid off is one that most people can't relate to - she spent hundreds of dollars on haircuts from "stylists", not "hairdressers"; splurged on expensive coats; ate out almost every single meal; never cooked; etc. With her newfound free time, she learns more about how other women in her family handled economic and personal setbacks, coming out fine in the end.

I felt like the stories didn't fully intertwine with each other, and the book overall read more like an abbreviated family history than a memoir of learning to cook and survive from her grandmother. I never got much of a feeling for the author, whose own recipes had directions that appeared to be trying for humor but were repetitive and predictable enough (all about her failure to be much of a cook and frustrations about her current situation) to make me skim them. The stories about her grandmother came to life a little more, as it was interesting to read about her life on a farm and how she made it work. But, overall, I felt like this could have easily been condensed into a magazine article and been none the worse - in fact, it probably would have been better, since all the nonessential information would have been trimmed out.

It took me about an hour to read the entire book, and while it wasn't a waste of my time, it also wasn't the kind of book that made me glad I finished it, nor was it memorable enough for me to recommend. This wasn't really a memoir about food, like the title and synopsis suggests, but about the author learning a little - or at least sharing a little - about her family history. Although the family history was interesting in a historical sense, I never got a sense of urgency that would set it apart from another person's family history, and I also didn't finish feeling inspired to cook or try any of the recipes included. It was an okay snapshot of the past but I never fully connected or cared about what was going on. Overall, a light read and pretty forgettable; it's not a bad book, but it never set itself apart from other family memoirs or getting-laid-off stories out there, resulting in me wondering why this was turned into a book at all.(less)

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Apr 05, 2011 Cherlyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book, but only after I got through the first 100 pages did it started to flow. I had trouble with the jumping back and forth in stories. I'm still not sure if I have Mathilda, Nana, and Carolyn straight. She is a talented writer, she has a good command of her language and voice; phrases that would pull the ideas together, episodes from each life that paralleled, and unusual ways to describe, like when they were on the way to their scenic wedding and were lost: "I rolled down the win...more

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May 09, 2010 Kelly Hager rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is nonfiction, a sort of memoir of a family.

Suzan is pretty used to hard times--her family, she says, has worried about money on and off for something like a hundred years. She and her husband have been doing pretty well, but after she gets laid off, she starts cooking more. Her grandmother saved a folder of recipes, and some of those find their way into the book.

In between the recipies are stories--some of Suzan and her husband, Nathan (who seems like the world's most perfect husband), but...more

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Mar 02, 2010 Lynne Perednia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Among those hit hardest by the current recession are not the ones suffering the most economically. Sure, some have lost their jobs but their spouse remains employed and has health insurance. They are pursuing freelance opportunities. And even though some, such as magazine writer Suzan Colon, acknowledge that they don't have it as bad as some other Americans who are in genuine dire straits, this recession has just about blown their young yuppie minds.

Gracious. While still working at her former ma...more Among those hit hardest by the current recession are not the ones suffering the most economically. Sure, some have lost their jobs but their spouse remains employed and has health insurance. They are pursuing freelance opportunities. And even though some, such as magazine writer Suzan Colon, acknowledge that they don't have it as bad as some other Americans who are in genuine dire straits, this recession has just about blown their young yuppie minds.

Gracious. While still working at her former magazine job, Colon had to economize. No more buying lunch when she could make do with leftovers and sandwiches. After she loses her job and writes from home, she has to choose between a cooler room where the modem is located or going upstairs to the warmth and broadband. That these choices are treated as revelations of character shows how much people forget within the space of time that still exists in the memory of some living folks. (Just ask anyone older than, say 70, about the Great Depression. Or read The Grapes of Wrath. Or for more contemporary times, download Christmas in Appalachia) http://www.archive.org/details/Cheryl...

Still, these forced economies send Colon to her late grandmother's recipe file and readers benefit from the stories about that remarkable lady. Cherries in Winter refers to how important it is to feed one's spirit by occasionally buying a treat. There was a time when fresh fruit, such as cherries, out of season were prohibitively expensive for all but the very rich. But a time when the author's mother bought them remains an episode that nourishes Colon's soul to this day. An earlier ancestor spent a week's worth of grocery money on a pair of vases that the author's mother still has.

Although the author's family is filled with women who put this kind of nourishment above constant penny-pinching, it is her grandmother Matilda who best embodies the spirit of feeding the soul. A can-do woman regardless of the circumstances life throws as her, Matilda never grumbles and always keeps on the sunny side. At one point her husband decides to uproot them from New York City to become farmers. Matilda befriends the ladies of the Grange by promising that, if they teach her how to cook, she'll do their hair and makeup. It's a happy arrangement and many of the recipes Colon finds in Nana's file are from those ladies.

Cherries in Winter is slim, even with stories from her family's past and recipes. But this is Colon's magazine background showing as much as anything. Instead of going on in greater detail, Colon keeps things as breezy as her grandmother's standard reply of "Fabulous, never better" to the question, "How are you?" Colon's volume is the kitchen equivalent of spending the afternoon at the day spa or a coffeehouse with girlfriends. Cherries in Winter is a forthy entertainment that demonstrates there are worse things that not having money. There are other kinds of poor, and money isn't the solution.

(less)

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Jan 10, 2010 JanB rated it 4 of 5 stars

A short little read about not just nourishing your body (recipes included) during uncertain economic times, but about nourishing your soul. It's a good reminder that there are many kinds of poverty and poverty of the spirit is the worst kind. The author's grandparents and mother knew how to make do with less and do it with resilience, high spirits and optimism. Their stories were definitely the high point of the book.

Harder to relate to were Suzan's "hardships". Stories of how she lost her 6 fig...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Suzan Colon went from having take out food whenever she wanted to being laid off and having to pinch every penny she could. Suzan comes upon her grandmother’s old recipe book, filled with tons of delicious foods. Most of the recipes were written my hand. The cook book features recipes like Suzan’s Great-Great-Grandmother Matilde’s Baked Pork Chops with Sauerkraut, Chicken Pie a la Mississippi, Butter Cookies, and Nana’s Lemon Meringue Pie to name a few.

Suzan decides that it is time to take a fe...more

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Nov 27, 2009 Kim V rated it 4 of 5 stars

Growing up my mother used to occasionally make “Gravy Bread” which is comprised of day old bread scraps, bacon fat, flour, and water. While the ingredients sound terrible, the dish itself is quite tasty. This Depression era recipe was handed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother to my mother to me. Many families have similar hardship recipes that have been passed down for generations.

When Suzan Colón, author of Cherries in Winter, is let go from her six figure publishing job she dec...more Growing up my mother used to occasionally make “Gravy Bread” which is comprised of day old bread scraps, bacon fat, flour, and water. While the ingredients sound terrible, the dish itself is quite tasty. This Depression era recipe was handed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother to my mother to me. Many families have similar hardship recipes that have been passed down for generations.

When Suzan Colón, author of Cherries in Winter, is let go from her six figure publishing job she decides to “put up soup.” According to Colón “to put up soup” means to do “whatever will sustain you through rough going until things get better.” The phrase also literally means to make soup. When Colón decides to “put up soup” she reaches for her Nana’s Depression era recipe file of cheap and hearty fare such as: Chicken Pie a la Mississippi; German Potato Salad; Aunt Nettie’s Clam Chowder; Quick Apple Cake; Butter Cookies; and Beef Stew with Yeast Dumplings.

Colón discovers that her Nana’s recipes fill more than just literal hunger, but also nourish the spirit. As Colón reflects,

"The recipes Nana wrote and saved offer more than directions for making comfort food that sustained my family for four generations. They’re artifacts from times good and bad – not vague references, but proof that we’ve been through worse than this and have come out okay. And right now, that’s something I need to know."

Each chapter begins with a recipe that Colón deftly weaves into a poignant lesson for weathering life’s storms. Particularly touching is the chapter, “Fine Vases, Cherries in Winter, and Other Lifesaving Devices” in which Colón explains that poverty of the soul is far more crippling than a zero bank account balance. As Colón muses, the little extra spent when there isn’t any extra is important because it reminds “us not to become miserly in spirit. We may be broke, but we’re not poor.”

Cherries in Winter is a literary hot bowl of chowder for a weary reader’s soul.

Publisher: Doubleday (November 3, 2009), 224 pages
Advance Review Copy Provided Courtesy of the Publisher. (less)

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Mar 27, 2013 Faith Colburn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hope in Hard Times
Suzan Colón finds hope in hard times through her family’s recipe files. In her book, Cherries in Winter, she shares, not only the ways her family economized when money was short¸ but also the insistence on little luxuries to remind them “not to become miserly in spirit.”
Colón begins her story with “sturdy food that gets you through,” sharing selected dishes from generations of coping. “In my family,” she writes, “trying to avoid some sort of bad time was, as Mom puts it, “Like...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Kara Huggard rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, memoir, nonfiction

I couldn't help but think of the poor little rich girl as I read this book. Yes, I did feel bad for the author who found herself suddenly out of work, but I just found myself thinking, "Yeah, but you don't have it as bad as some of the people." I know firsthand of the disorientation and uncertainty that can occur with a sudden loss of employment, so I do empathize with the author. But it seemed like in the effort to make an interesting book, she made her situation sound worse than it was. Unlike...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Meg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, memoir

Suzan Colón's Cherries In Winter: My Family's Recipe For Hope In Hard Times is a memoir, family dialogue and cookbook in one -- and I enjoyed it for what it was: a series of vignettes and snapshots looking at one woman's struggle to stay afloat in our Great Recession while simultaneously enjoying tiny moments of indulgence in an otherwise bleak landscape.

The strength of Cherries In Winter really rests in the stories of Matilda, Suzan's grandmother, and the way in which she coped during the Great...more Suzan Colón's Cherries In Winter: My Family's Recipe For Hope In Hard Times is a memoir, family dialogue and cookbook in one -- and I enjoyed it for what it was: a series of vignettes and snapshots looking at one woman's struggle to stay afloat in our Great Recession while simultaneously enjoying tiny moments of indulgence in an otherwise bleak landscape.

The strength of Cherries In Winter really rests in the stories of Matilda, Suzan's grandmother, and the way in which she coped during the Great Depression, feeding and sustaining her family on the meager salary she earned in the city. As Suzan digs deeper into her grandmother's recipes and Carolyn shares anecdotes on her grandmother's life, Suzan realizes how fortunate she is to be paid -- even sporadically -- for what she loves to do: write. Interspersed with her grandmother's recipes are little articles and stories she's written, one even titled "You've Got To Be A Bitch To Get Ahead!" Considering the time period in which it was written, can we shout radical? Her grandmother never became a writer, but her words live on. Through Suzan.

Unfortunately, Suzan's own life comes across as dankly depressing in the story. I've read a few of memoirs centering around unemployment, most of which are handled with wit. Unlike Jen Lancaster's Bitter Is The New Black, Colón doesn't have self-deprecating humor to fall back on -- and I think that shows. This slip of a novel -- clocking in at just over 200 pages -- fails to dive deeply into any time period, and I didn't connect as well with Suzan as a narrator as I would have liked. The book focused heavily on the past but moved too quickly between time periods, leaving me to wonder if I was standing in the Bronx or Florida. And though the chapters were clearly marked and dates given, I couldn't help but feel slightly disjointed.

Colón's memoir is easily devoured in an evening, but I didn't close the final page feeling satisfied. Like a well-baked pie, the narrative was delicious -- but I wanted more. More about Suzan. More about her marriage. More about her reactions to the foods she was making, and more about what was going to happen. The present-day described in the book was bleak; I didn't get that feeling of hope and optimism I craved. I wanted to end on more of a high note.

Lovers of memoirs and food narratives will find plenty of sumptuous recipes in the book, a few of which I'd love to try (butter cookies? Yes, please!). And while I enjoyed reading about Colón's family history, I just wish I could have gotten a bigger helping.(less)

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Apr 11, 2010 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

When the going gets tough, the tough make soup.

I really enjoyed this short book. It was inspirational to read about the depression and how Suzan's family handled it. Some lines and ideas spoke to me. When she wrote that being poor did not mean you had to act poor, I thought of my grandparents. They too survived the depression but you would never know it. The idea of being poor in pocket rather than poor in spirit appeals to me.

Some lines in the book made me laugh (eg. referring to Whole Foods...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars

While it was interesting to read about Ms. Colon's family history, I felt that the overall tone of the book was ELITIST! Ms. Colon bemoans the fact that she can no longer afford $350.00 haircuts and has to "do" her own eyebrows!!!

She clearly has no idea how this terrible economy has affected thousands of people. They are wondering how to buy basic groceries, obtain needed medical care and pay the rent.

She also included many dishes that features meat. Meat is truly not affordable for many people...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011, memoir

This books reads like a series of magazine articles 600 to 1000 words. Each chapter has the same characters, but together they don't provide a story arc. Some of the articles work better than others. And some didn't hold my interest. I found it difficult to remember the characters. I was more than two-thirds into the book before I realized Matilda was Nana. And Matilde was the great-great grandma. (I think.)

The book focuses on three main topics - family, food and tough economic times. Woven in...more This books reads like a series of magazine articles 600 to 1000 words. Each chapter has the same characters, but together they don't provide a story arc. Some of the articles work better than others. And some didn't hold my interest. I found it difficult to remember the characters. I was more than two-thirds into the book before I realized Matilda was Nana. And Matilde was the great-great grandma. (I think.)

The book focuses on three main topics - family, food and tough economic times. Woven in these three topics is short commentary on women in the work force and women's fashion and beauty tips. Most of these topics are fine for the magazine format. The history of women's magazines are about looking good (for work, for yourself and for your significant other), generic tips on getting by in the workforce and cooking up meals. The articles (or chapters) that worked best for me were about her grandfather. But the topic of navigating tough economic times didn't work for me. The book talks a lot about choices. Why are very expensive raisins all the more tempting when we can least afford them? Suzan Colon's belief is that by indulging in these delicacies she is broke, but not poor. She sees the ability to make room for the occasional splurge as a way to keep spirits up.

Ultimately, I didn't connect to this part of the book. There was something jarring about this light format trying to tackle how people face the challenges of a true economic downturn. And in this case, it never felt all that challenging. For me getting by in tough times - is connecting to people who support me. Again this quick and easy format made it difficult to understand how her network sustained her besides a few sentences here and there. I could barely keep track of the characters much less figure out what they offered. I think that's why her stories about her grandfather worked the best. He stood out as a single character, who was willing to drop everything to catch blue fish or send for her in cabby that was willing to drive on the sidewalk. (less)

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Apr 10, 2011 Colette Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, reviewed

I found this book by mistake. I was at B&N searching through the biography/memoir section. I had found a book called "Lunch in Paris" or something similar. The reviews on the cover touted that if you adored Eat, Pray, Love (which I've never read) and Julie & Julia (which I've only seen the movie), you would like this book. I found myself hemming and hawing about it until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cherries in Winter .

Having just finished graduate school and somewhat despera...more

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Nov 13, 2009 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 01, 2010 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-non-fiction

When Suzan is laid off she starts economizing - which means, among other things, less eating out and more home cooking. Her mother's suggestion is to "look in Nana's recipe folder," buried somewhere in the basement. When she finally digs out the folder Suzan finds much more than recipes for sturdy comfort food. She also discovers a recipe for living a full life during lean times.

This memoir not only relates Suzan's life in 2008 when she is laid off from her dream job, but also the story of her g...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cookbook, memoir

Punished by an economy in turmoil, the newly jobless Suzan Colón turns to a swath of family recipes, long buried in her basement, hoping to find some comfort in hard financial times. She quickly realizes how closely her current challenges parallel those of her predecessors.

Childhood tales seam pleasingly into past, future and recipes, a family history powered by food. Already highly relatable in content, Cherries in Winter feels like a worn-in leather armchair, its comfortable manner ensures a s...more

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Oct 18, 2009 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking-crafting, nonfiction, work-review-related-reading

This reads a little like sitting in the attic with your best friend going through a box of your great grandma's old recipes, filling her in on the stories that went along with
the memories of those dishes. Puzzling over faded hand-writing and laughing at some of the ingredients that haven't seen a store shelf in years. That's the kind of chatty
intimacy this slim book has--as well as fabulous recipes. Colon's family has always used the comfort of good, but practical, food to get them through har...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Ellen Christian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Take one out of work writer with a rich history of strong women in her past who've overcome difficult financial times and mix generously with frugal recipes from her mother and grandmother and you have Cherries in Winter.

Cherries in Winter is an easy read that's dotted with healthy, home cooked recipes that your Grandmother would be proud to serve and probably has. I loved the easy writing style and heart felt memories of growing up in the depression and other hard financial times that the autho...more

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Jan 06, 2010 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

I received this book through Goodreads Firstreads, but I've just barely gotten around to reading it. Although I'm a sucker for memoirs, I just couldn't give this more that two stars. The biggest thing that bugged me was how she kept talking about how expensive health insurance is. Now I know that health premiums are probably higher for people in their 40s living in New York than they are for people in their 20s living in Utah, but really? I kind of quit feeling sympathy for how much you were pay...more

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Feb 01, 2010 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-nonfiction

During the economic downturn in 2008, Suzan Colon lost her dream job at a magazine. She began to think of ways to economize at home. Eating out became a luxury. Determined to cook at home, Suzan looked through boxes in her basement and retrieved her grandmother's old recipe folder. Not only did she discover delicious recipes, she also found essays, written by her grandmother, which revealed her family's history and their secrets for surviving in hard times. This memoir skillfully moves from the...more

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Jul 02, 2010 Marianne Bucci rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very charming memoir. Magazine writer Suzan Colon joins the ranks of the unemployed due to budget tightening measures. Learning to economize means learning to cook. While searching through her grandmother's recipes, she discovers the strength and determination that helped her grandmother get through hard times.One lesson learned is to allow small fabulous extravagances to prevent becoming poor in spirit, example delicious cherries in winter. This book reminded me so much of the basic philosophy...more

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Mar 01, 2010 Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, food

Audio. Mixed feelings about this one. I like anything with recipes mixed in, but I'm not sure I want to rush out and try any of these recipes. I liked the message about choosing to be poor in pocket over poor in spirit (given that hard decision). I like the stories from several generations weaving in an out; I like her taking lessons from all of them. I like seeing how different generations had different hardships but handled them similarly; but also handled similar hardships differently. Howeve...more

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Nov 22, 2009 Liz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-friends-can-borrow, food-writing, memoir, non-fiction, first-reads

I got this book from entering the Goodreads book giveaway, and it was pretty entertaining. Each chapter is constructed as a loose essay on a given topic, drawing from the author's experiences and those of her family. Chapters start with a recipe or piece of advice from the author's grandmother (or Nana). There are some benefits to this story construction, but I had a hard time following which relatives the stories were referencing (a family tree would've been a brilliant addition to this book),...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Lormac rated it 4 of 5 stars

You could read this book in an evening, but it will stay with you for a lot longer. It seems like a cookbook, but it is really one of those 'inspirational' books and much more. The author, who lost her job in the recent (on-going?) recession, uses her new free time to review (and cook) some recipes handed down to her from her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc., and to reflect on the hard times that they endured in their lives. This process helps her put her own situation into perspecti...more

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About Suzan Colon

I'm the author of Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times, published in hardcover by Doubleday in November, 2010; normally a happy holiday time of year, but that particular November was one of the worst in this economic downfall--kind of timely, since my book was part Recession therapy, part comfort food recipes. Cherries in Winter is out now in paperback with added chapters...more

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title link	preview: Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times
avg rating	preview: Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times Goodreads rating: 3.36 (539 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6650923-cherries-in-winter?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320398835l/6650923.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6650923-cherries-in-winter?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times by Suzan Colon[/url]

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

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