When Christina Tosi used one of my all time favorite (and entirely underrated) quotes from Wally Lamb's book "She's Come Undone", I knew it was a book for me. (The quote being: Accept what people offer. Drink their milkshakes. Take their love.")

As a dessert lover and home cook, I really enjoyed reading this. It was filled with inspiration and motivation in the language of foodies, as well as favorite recipes, some of which you'll recognize if you're a frequenter of Milk Bar. I loved the little names she assigned to feelings and phenomenons... "joy trails", "dirty dessert secrets", etc. Even if you don't own your own business, or your favorite place isn't the kitchen, you will still walk away with something to remember from this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I needed something light, but was pleasantly surprised to find this memoir enchanting and motivational.

The tone is a little too capitalism girl bossy for me, but the underlying message is solid.

Look...I just really love Christina Tosi...ok?

Listened to audiobook read by the author. This book was not great. I really struggled to understand the point. The author told a collection of random stories related to dessert for the first half. None of them really drew me in or created any sort of connection. They were boring. Then, when she did finally start talking about her own career path and how she built Milk Bar, she provided little detail or meaningful stories. They were all loosely related to dessert which made everything more corny and chaotic. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

I love every book that Christina Tosi writes. This one is equal parts stories and recipes which I really enjoyed. I took her class and enjoy her bake club on Instagram. I will definitely be making some of these recipes. For me the focus of this one was on the stories, that's where I got the majority of my enjoyment. Christina comes through so well on paper. It's like she's in the room talking to you. Her recipes, as always, are spectacular.

I think that the highest compliment I can give this delightful book is that, as I was nearing the end of it, I was already making plans to hop on Amazon & purchase two hardcover copies for myself & for my mother-in-law, who 1) loves food, 2) owns her own porta-potty business & 3) is a self-proclaimed tomboy girly-girl who redefined what being a boss looked like in her extremely male-dominated industry, much like the illustrious Ms. Tosi herself! (Sadly, I shortly after that realized that I won't be able to do that for a few more months until the actual pub day!! *sad face*).

Disclaimer: I've been a little bit of a Milk Bar/ Christina Tosi super fan since the days when I lived in Brooklyn & could push my toddler/ newborn-laden stroller to the Carroll Gardens location right over the F train stop, while also watching her at home as a judge on MasterChef Jr. while I breastfed my baby girl (who's now nearly 8!), so Ms. Tosi didn't need a lot of help to win me over; that job was done! But I WILL say that I do happen to also be super picky about writing styles & ability, and I'll often read books that are written by some of my faves outside of the writing world with a fair amount of trepidation, mentally sending the message "PLEASE DON'T SUCK!", and I am pleased to say that I dove headfirst into this gooey, sugary, delectable confection-with-a-soul of a book and never once cringed. Even when CT packs on the cheese & the sugar, she does so with full, unapologetic self-awareness that manages to be entirely relatable, while not compromising her own authenticity. I could also "hear" her voice narrating this entire book as I read, so I somewhat feel like I had the audiobook experience, as well! :)

This is a book that is a love letter to her family, to the people with whom she's worked along the way, to her team at Milk Bar, and (duh!) to DESSERT- in all its glorious and "dirty secret" forms. I love a good food memoir, and this one delivers with a few fun recipes and "non-recipes", lots of fun & funny anecdotes pulled from her childhood & culinary career, and heartwarming, ooey-gooey but not over-sweet, life philosophies galore. I'm now entirely obsessed with her mom Greta & her care packages (not sure if I would rather work for Greta or for Christina- can they please start a company together so I can work for them both??). I'm now fully committed to baking cakes for ALL celebratory occasions - big, small & everywhere in-between - and to the ongoing crazy scientist/ food inventor approach which Christina brings to her work and her personal life. Her "Chef's Table" biopic gave me a glimpse into the woman behind the business, and now I feel like this book gave me someone whom I now consider a mentor/ role model from afar.

In a world where it's difficult to hear anything over the shouts of the toxically "positive vibes only" privileged Instagram influencer and the death drums of this pandemic-ravaged, politically-polarized & vastly disparate world in which we find ourselves at the end of 2021, Christina's heartfelt manifesto about cultivating joy in all its forms, even in the most bleak of circumstances, by bringing it to others who need it even more than we do, resonates to the core.

There's something she shares at the end of one of her chapters (I can't officially share it as a direct quote since this book is not yet "done" & could still change) that talks about the importance of seeing a need, or a void, in the world, and creating the solution, the perfect-sized puzzle piece, to fill that void.

I believe she has done this with her ever-expanding Milk Bar empire, and now, with this beautiful book. Thank you for refusing to be anyone other than you, CT. I'm inspired to be even more me because of you being you.

*I received an advance NetGalley ARC courtesy of Rodale, Inc in exchange for my honest review*