… Funny things happen and funny things unfold when you're writing memoir – I promise you that – and you don't necessarily know where the truth is going to take you. He's your uncle, or he's your dad in some cases.

You know, all of these things that we're sort of taught like, well, but you have to love him. This man is always offhandedly saying cruel things, instilling shame, creating self-doubt. We were taught to normalize bad behavior from men in ways that, you know, that was how we started to interpret love. On Donovan’s journey to reckon with familial traumas and abuse More information and the Zoom link are available here. It’s a fiery, impassioned and sometimes painful story of a Southern chef who cares more about food than fame.ĭonovan joined On Second Thought to share the pains, obstacles, and joys of finding her voice as a woman and as a Southerner – and learning to use it in the male-dominated culinary world.ĭonovan will be in conversation with The New York Times food writer Kim Severson for an Atlanta History Center virtual author talk on Monday, Aug. The book follows her life in and out of kitchens, and the restaurant industry she loved – and later left. Now, Donovan fulfills that imperative herself in a new memoir, called Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger. That essay, called “Dear Women: Own Your Stories,” won a James Beard Award. “I refuse to be afraid to say these things out loud any longer, even though it feels terrifying,” wrote the celebrated Nashville-based pastry chef. In an essay for Food & Wine, Lisa Donovan went head-on at the treatment of women in the culinary world. In 2017, the #MeToo movement was exploding across industries.

Credit: Jared Buckheister / Cover Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Lady of perpetual hunger