From Scratch

A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

By: Tembi Locke

Narrated by: Tembi Locke

A 2020 Audie Award Finalist

One of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2019!

Now a limited Netflix series starring Zoe Saldaña!

This Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller is “a captivating story of love lost and found” (Kirkus Reviews) set in the lush Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hours.

It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forged on. They built a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships, and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth. Eventually, they reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams.

From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family, now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother-in-law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s romance—an incredible love story that leaps off the pages.

In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case, it is both. “Locke’s raw and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of their own loved ones” (Publishers Weekly), but her story is also about love, finding a home, and chasing flavor as an act of remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love, fought for what mattered most, and those who needed a powerful reminder that life is...delicious.

Critic reviews

"Actor Tembi Locke narrates her memoir in a smooth, warm voice that carries the listener through her story of falling in love with Saro, an engaging Sicilian chef, his early death from cancer, and how time with his family helped heal her intense grief. Locke's memoir frequently shifts timeframes, alternately voicing the devastation of his death and the joy of their life together. Locke captivates as she tells of her love for Saro and their daughter, Zoela; the pain of rejection by his family when he married her, a black American; and the bittersweet joy of reconciliation during his illness. Listeners will savor Locke's lyrical English and Italian, and will be swept away by scenes in his Sicilian village of finding solace in food made with love."

I didn't realize a 5 star book until this one!

I'm tremendously disappointed that I have other books 5 ratings. THIS is the 5 star rating book. I doubt many other books will deserve a 5 like this one does.

beautiful story, beautiful performance, beautiful writing

Just couldn't keep going

I listened and was totally mesmerized for several hours, but just finally couldn't continue. Too too sad for too too long a period of time. I may go back to it. I never did get to where she met and established a relationship with her in laws. I just couldn't continue. I see the reviews and I seem to be the only one who wouldn't recommend this book even though it is very good. I think she spent too much time with the death in the beginning and all that went with that. I needed a break.

I wish that there was a 5+ star option!

I was hesitant, at first, to pick this book. I thought it might make me sad. I am so glad
I did read it. I identified with Tembi’s parents.
I am a child of the sixties. I am also a descendant of Sicilian grandparents. Every aspect of Tembi’s beautiful, rich story touched my heart.
I also wanted to add that the visions of life in Sicily were insightful and intimate.

A TENDER YET POWERFUL STORY , A MUST READ !

My title says it all ! Thais is a must read for many generations of women who have lived ,loved & lost . A precious story of survival of the soul & body of Tembi Locke .

Beautiful, Visceral

I found myself often in tears listening to this book, struck by its poignant moments of emotional connection. I will be listening to this several more times.