Life from Scratch by Melissa Ford

Check out the cover.  Once you see the spoons, and then learn that Melissa Ford's Life from Scratch is about a blogger, you know why I read this book.  Food + blogging + fiction = an enjoyable book.  Not always.  I recently took a book about letters and recipes back to the library unfinished.  But Melissa Ford's story of Rachel, a woman struggling over her divorce, caught and kept my attention.

Rachel Goldman was the one who asked for the separation and divorce from her husband, Adam.  At thirty-four, when she found herself sitting alone in their apartment while he worked long hours as a lawyer, she realized she was alone, and lonely, in her marriage.  Nine months later, she's still lonely.  But, she's found an outlet for her loneliness in a blog called "Life from Scratch," where she talks about her efforts to learn to cook, and her relationships. 

When Rachel's best friend, Arianna, nominates her for a blogging award, and Rachel's readers soar to 100,000 a day, she discovers people identify with her attempts to learn to fry an egg, and to learn to date all over again.  But, even a brief brush with fame, dates with a sexy Spaniard, and a caring best friend can't stop Rachel from missing Adam.  Can she really start a "Life from Scratch" after twelve years of marriage to a man she loved?

Melissa Ford is an award-winning blogger, with a number of blogs.  She successfully weaves the blog entries together with Rachel Goldman's daily life in a novel that shows a woman's growth in a traumatic post-divorce year.   It's easy to fall for Rachel, with her flaky moments, her uncertainties, and, her courage in trying to make a new life.  Don't look for recipes in Ford's first novel.  Enjoy the recipes for life, in fact, Life from Scratch.

I'm giving you links to Melissa Ford's blogs, although neither seem to be active lately.  They are:  http://www.stirrup-queens.com/ and http://www.life-from-scratch.com/.  This one may be more up-to-date, http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.com/.

Life from Scratch by Melissa Ford.  Bell Bridge Books, ©2010. ISBN 978-1-935661-98-6 (paperback), 208p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy, hoping I would review it.