What do you love most about your memoir?
Well, I am probably biased, but I think that the narrative really moves; I’ve been told by some early readers that it has that “can’t put it down” quality. I spent a lot of time thinking about what details did and did not need to stay in the story, in order to give the reader the most compelling experience. As I refined the first draft, I could see where certain digressions or explanations were only compelling to me, and I think I made good choices that will keep the reader’s eyes on the page.
What kind of reader do you think will most appreciate or enjoy your book?
I think this book has a number of targeted reader-types. Fans of memoir as a genre will enjoy this one, which I think is funny, surprising and honest. Fans of Anthony Bourdain will be interested in my experiences as his assistant and co-author. People who like to cook and travel are in for a treat. Anyone who has attended cooking school and/or worked in the food service or hospitality industry will see their experiences reflected here. People who have wrestled with changing standards of workplace behavior, especially around sexual harassment, will find a lot to chew on. People who have struggled with addiction, or know someone who has, will ideally feel seen and heard when reading this book. People who have struggled in their relationships, or with the early days of parenting, or with the long-term illness of a parent, will all find a lot to relate to.
At what point did you know this story was a book?
After the death of Tony Bourdain, while I was simultaneously working on World Travel and Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography, I had occasion to reflect on my career. I was newly divorced and sober and grieving the loss of my boss and mentor, and taking stock of how I’d gotten to that point. A decade ago, I wrote an essay about all the jobs I’d had since college, and that got such a strong response that I knew there was a lot of pleasure and insight to be gleaned by building a narrative around my work life, which so often bled into my personal life.
What was the hardest memory to get on the page?
I sometimes behaved badly in my relationship with my ex-husband, and that’s a tough thing to document honestly on the page. It’s a private and painful situation, and I worked hard to strike a balance between telling a compelling story and protecting his privacy. There was a moment when we were breaking up when he said, “You’d better not be writing about this.” Bearing that in mind, I endeavored to treat him gently and with kindness in the narrative, because the fault was all mine.
Was there anything that surprised you as you wrote?
I was lucky to have the experience that I’ve heard other writers talk about, wherein writing in a loose, stream-of-consciousness style for the first draft sometimes unearthed new insights and new ways of understanding an old experience. This was especially true as I wrote about my dealings with men. In the moment, I was only focused on immediate gratification, but in writing about my various boyfriends and flings, I could see patterns to which I had previously been oblivious.
“I was newly divorced and sober and grieving the loss of my boss and mentor, and taking stock of how I’d gotten to that point.”
How do you feel now that you’ve put this story to the page?
I feel great, honestly. I’ve co-authored a number of books, but writing a book as a solo author has been a lifelong ambition. I’ve been buoyed by early reactions and I am eager to launch the book into the wider world, where I sincerely believe it will resonate with all kinds of readers.
How have you changed since you started writing it?
I am fundamentally the same person I was when I started writing it, but I think that I have a perspective on the events described in the narrative that’s both deeper and broader than when I started. I’ve also realized over the course of writing and editing it, and now starting to promote it, that the writing itself held so much pleasure. I used to drive toward the finish line and only feel satisfied on publication day. I know now that every part of the process is a reward.
What is the most interesting thing you had to research in order to write this book?
It wasn’t so much research as recall, but I found it fascinating and surprising to get back into the course materials from culinary school. That education was much more rigorous and traditional than I’d remembered. I also went deep into the processes involved in Guinness World Record attempts, Judy Garland’s hometown and the fates of various actors who played munchkins in The Wizard of Oz.
Can you describe your book as an item on a menu?
Care and Feeding is itself a tasting menu, delivering a full meal that’s been carefully calibrated with just enough comedy, pathos, thrill, horror, gossip and actual food.
Photo of Laurie Woolever by David Scott Holloway.
