Book Review: Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin'

So, ya'll know that I went to Savannah, GA last week on vacation and that we went on the Paula Deen tour. Well, I've always been a fan of Paula's from watching her shows on The Food Network. After all, I am a Southern gal and can relate to all that fabulousness that Paula is cookin' up in the kitchen!  She had me hooked when I saw a show where she deep fried a ham using a turkey fryer. It came out a little crispy on the outside (also how I like my hot dogs!) but so tender and juicy on the inside-at least that's how it looked on tv.  It must be lunchtime because I'm going off talking about food!

Anyhoo, I was intrigued by Paula's story so I purchased her biography, Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' while we were in Savannah. Now, normally I don't really do biographies, I'm more of a popular fiction kinda gal, but I couldn't put this book down. I had it finished within three days!

(Did ya'll really click to look inside? Lol.)

Here's a summary of what it's all about written by Amazon reviewer Dennis Phillips. I figured what he said pretty much sums up what I thought so why rewrite it? :) See the whole review here.

"She starts out the book by saying that she is going to hide nothing and is going to be totally honest with her fans. She then proceeds to admit that she is a smoker and I thought that if this was her biggest darkest secret I was going to be bored before I got through with this book. Well in true Southern fashion she was just serving up a light appetizer because there was much more to come. The much more I'm not going to give away but take it from me, Paula has been cooking in more rooms than the kitchen.

Beyond the secrets though this is a warm and endearing book that is filled with Southern slang and humor. This is the story of the average Southern girl who grows up watching her mother and grandmother cook but never dreams that cooking will be her ticket to the big time. This is the story of a girl who marries too young, loses her parents not long after that and ends up having to find a way to support her family. There are dark times when she has to deal with family problems and mental illness and there are times when most people would have just given up but this is also a love story with a happy ending."

Now, back to my thoughts. I really enjoyed this book. Paula has a charm about her that reminds me of my own grandmothers. How can you not love a lady that says "Hey ya'll!"?

I love Paula's rags to riches story. Her story embodies all the stereotypical adages:

"You're never too old to follow your dreams."

"Hard work does pay off."

"You can start with nothin' and make somethin'."

...And so on...

If you're a fan-or even if you're not, maybe you will become one after reading-I recommend this book.

Now, with that being said, there are some things in the book that will make your jaw drop open and be like "What??????".  Seriously.

That's all I'm gonna say about that. Are you intrigued yet?

...And if you don't know the story of how Paula and Michael met...well, I just love it. It's so fun!