Miss Cecily's recipes for exceptional ladies : a novel

Title:

Author:

Zimmerman, Vicky, author.

Uniform Title:

Woman who wanted more

ISBN:

9781728210230

Physical Description:

422 pages ; 21 cm.

General Note:

Originally published as The Woman Who Wanted More in 2019 in the United Kingdom by Zaffre, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK.

Subject Term:

Life change events -- Fiction.

Female friendship -- Fiction.

Nursing home residents -- Fiction.

Intergenerational relations -- Fiction.

Cooking -- Psychological aspects -- Fiction.

Self-realization in women -- Fiction.

Summary:

After a major life upheaval on the eve of her 40th birthday, Kate Parker finds herself volunteering at Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies. There she meets 97-year-old Cecily Finn. Cecily's tongue is as sharp as her mind but she has lost her spark, simply resigning herself to the Imminent End. Having no patience with Kate's plight, Cecily prescribes her a self-help book with a difference - it's a 1957 cookbook, featuring menus for anything life can throw at "the easily dismayed." So begins an unlikely friendship between two lonely and stubborn souls - one at the end of her life, one stuck in the middle - who discover one big life lesson: never be ashamed to ask for more. --

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	FICTION ZIM	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION ZIM	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	FICTION ZIM	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

"A can't-miss title for fans of chick lit and modern women's fiction."--Library Journal, STARRED review

An unlikely friendship between two stubborn, lonely souls anchors this big-hearted book and dares us all to ask for more.

When her life falls apart on the eve of her 40th birthday, Kate Parker finds herself volunteering at the Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies. There she meets 97-year-old Cecily Finn. Cecily's tongue is as sharp as her mind, but she's fed up with pretty much everything.

Having no patience for Kate's choices in life or love, Cecily prescribes her a self-help book...of sorts. Thought for Food: an unintentionally funny 1950s cookbook high on enthusiasm, featuring menus for anything life can throw at the "easily dismayed," such as:

Breakfast with a Hangover

Tea for a Crotchety Aunt

Dinner for a Charming Stranger

As she and Cecily break out of their ruts, Kate will learn far more than recipes.

A feel-good summer read with a wicked sense of humor, Vicky Zimmerman's book will teach you that food is for feasting, friends are for savoring, and the way to a man's heart is...irrelevant.

Fans of Jennifer Weiner, Elin Hildenbrand, and Sophie Kinsella will delight in this recipe for confidence, romance, and fun.

Praise for Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies:

"A beautiful, thoughtful read about love, friendship and food with shades of Nora Ephron's Heartburn and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine."--Tasmina Perry, international bestselling author of Daddy's Girls

"Beautifully written, full of insight and food."--Katie Fforde, bestselling author of A Perfect Proposal

"Hungry for a love story with added bite? With deliciously real characters, a sprinkling of humor, a pinch of pathos and huge helping of wisdom, this book has all the ingredients to become this summer's must-read."--Isabelle Broom, bestselling author of One Thousand Stars and You

Author Notes

Vicky Zimmerman lives in London. She worked in marketing and as a food tester at a major UK supermarket before leaving to write full-time. She has written for the Guardian and the Observer as well as for women's magazines, specifically on food, body image and dating. Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies is inspired by her own grandmother's 1950s cookbook.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

While on holiday in France with her boyfriend, Nick, Kate is unexpectedly thrown from a contented romance to a confused state of limbo by something she calls the Wobble. It's not that Nick doesn't want her to move in, eventually; it's just that he feels weird about their future. Resolved not to resume their relationship until Nick finds some clarity, Kate discovers a source of solace in the most unexpected place--the extensive book collection of barb-tongued, 97-year-old Cecily Finn, a resident at the senior home where Kate has been volunteering. The midcentury cookbook she gives to Kate offers witty takes on the many situations in which the clever cook might use her meals to achieve larger aims, such as "Dinner for the Man You Hope to Marry." As Kate begins to cook her way back to a sense of sanity, she learns Cecily's own story of romance and finding her place in the world, which often connects back to the cookbook. Zimmerman adeptly juggles entertainment with deeper themes of longing and loss in this appetizing novel.

Library Journal Review

DEBUT As 39-year-old foodie Kate approaches the dreaded 4--0, her stable life starts to unravel. Her job may be on the chopping block, but even more upsetting is when her soon-to-be live-in boyfriend says he needs to "retreat." To get her mind off her troubles, she volunteers to give food demos at a retirement home for elderly women, where she meets cantankerous 97-year-old Cecily, who disdains Kate's choices and how she wastes precious time on her boring job and unsuitable boyfriend. As relations begin to thaw a little and Cecily tells Kate about her adventurous life, Kate starts to wonder if Cecily is right. This is a fast and fabulous third-person read about life, loneliness, love, and the power of good food and friends. Zimmerman keeps things realistic, including Kate's modern relationship troubles (e.g., ghosting and a noncommittal boyfriend who constantly lets her down), frustrated friends, and an irritating mother. But Cecily, a mentor Kate meets by chance, is the real star, with her jaw-dropping insults, fascinating life story, and brusque but well-meaning advice. VERDICT A can't-miss title for fans of chick lit and modern women's fiction.--Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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