Dawn Lerman - My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes

Dawn Lerman grew up Jewish in the seventies. I grew up Italian. Might sound different, but for the most part, its the same. Especially when it comes to food. The philosophy was simple, food = love. My Fat Dad hilariously and poignantly captures that essence. Whether youre Italian, Jewish, or anything else, you can relate to how family, food, and the love of both affect how we grow up and live our life. Mangia!

Ray Romano, Emmy awardwinning actor

Everything you want in a book about food: thoughtful, moving, funny, and, of course, delicious (see the recipe on sweet potato latkes). Dawn reminds us that eating is about much more than protein and carbs and nutrientsits about family, history, and identity. Dawns grandmother put it best: I can find my heritage in a bowl of soup.

A. J. Jacobs, journalist and New York Times bestselling author of Drop Dead Healthy

Dawn Lerman takes the reader along on one of lifes important journeysto find true nourishment. Her discoveries about the powerful ways that food connects us to our families, our heritage, and, ultimately, to ourselves are profound and beautiful.

Andie Mitchell, New York Times bestselling author of It Was Me All Along

Dawn Lermans love letter to her father is a big, funny, welcome embrace to all of us fat dads out there.

David Sax, James Beard Awardwinning author of Save the Deli

Told with no fear, some surprises, and much humor, punctuated with delightful and delicious recipes from both the old and the new world of cooking, the best dishes being those made with love. We can all relate to a life obsessed with food; and Dawn shows that food often does equal love, and that being fed well equates to being nurtured as well as nourished... A truly wonderful journey!

Lisa Goldberg, cofounder of Monday Morning Cooking Club

[Lermans] passion for cooking and good food, a constant joy during a challenging childhood, shines throughout this touching memoir.

Martha Rose Shulman, cookbook author, cooking teacher, and food columnist for The New York Times

Some of Dawn Lermans vivid childhood food memories made me smile; others brought tears to my eyes. I particularly enjoyed reading about her inspiring grandmother, who, with her love and her delicious cooking, saved Dawn Lermans life spoonful by spoonful, patiently teaching her to taste and to cook.

Faye Levy, author of 1,000 Jewish Recipes

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This book is an original publication of Penguin Random House LLC.

Copyright 2015 by Dawn Lerman.

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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-14286-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lerman, Dawn.

My fat dad : a memoir of food, love, and family, with recipes / Dawn Lerman.Berkley trade paperback edition.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-425-27223-7

1. Lerman, DawnFamily. 2. CooksUnited StatesBiography. 3. Cooking, American. I. Title.

TX649.L478A3 2015

641.5092dc23

[B]

2015016904

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley trade paperback edition / September 2015

Cover design by Daniel Rembert.

Cover photo Tim Platt / Getty Images.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the author nor the publisher is responsible for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

This book describes the real experiences of real people. The author has disguised the identities of some, and in some instances created composite characters, but none of these changes has affected the truthfulness and accuracy of her story.

Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the authors alone.

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To my family:
My dad, my mom, my sister April, my grandmother Beauty
without you, there would be no story.
And to Dylan and Sofia, you are my world and my heart.