'Food for thought - and writing'

 

“Most memoir writers will tell you that the hardest part of writing a memoir isn't what to include, but what to leave out.” – Kathleen Flinn

Born in Davison, Michigan on this date in 1967, Flinn is a memoirist, journalist and chef, best known for her New York Times bestseller The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry.   After earning a degree in journalism from Columbia College in Chicago, she wrote for newspapers and magazines in a number of states and nationally, including working as an obituary writer in Sarasota, Fla.  That experience was – in a way – her first chance to write “memoirs.”  

 

It was also at that time that she started thinking about attending culinary school at the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu and her book is the first to provide an in-depth look at attending and graduating from the famed school.  To date, it has been translated into nine languages, sold in more than 60 countries and is in production for a television series.

Flinn’s most recent book is Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good, a multi-generational culinary memoir about growing up in Michigan.  A finalist for several book awards, it also has earned a citation from the  International Association of Culinary Professionals.  And her writing success all goes back to her time writing obits in Sarasota.

 

 “I didn’t realize it at the time," she said, "but writing obituaries was one of best jobs that I've ever had. After all, it's the only time that someone will ever laminate my work and put it in their Bible. Plus, let's be honest, writing obits in Sarasota is a very busy job. The saying was that old people lived in Miami, but their parents lived in Sarasota.”