This is a beautiful story about a friendship between an almost 40 woman (Kate) and a woman nearing the end of her life (Cecily). Cecily has lived a very full life and tries to help Kate add to her somewhat stale life. The friendship, although rocky at times, helps both women to have better lives.

This book brought me so much job while reading! This book brings together the power of food and friendship during personal struggle.

When Kate gets her heart broken the last place she expected to be was volunteering in a retirement home teaching cooking classes, but here she is. Unruly, Cecily, critiques her every move. Still, she invited Kate for tea. The two take us through an adventure of old love and new friendships. The two women are able to bond and challenge each other to make some hard decisions.

I adored the characters and the message behind the book. Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and author Vicky Zimmerman for the copy of this book!

Such a warm, wonderful feel-good story that had me in foodie heaven! I don't always gravitate towards contemporary chick-lit fiction, but something about the cover design just drew me in, and I am so glad it did. While the story focus is on Kate as she navigates the employment and relationship curve-balls that life has thrown her, I found Cecily - with her crotchety attitude and razor-sharp wit - won me over like no character has ever done before. Life is for living and Cecile's stories of her past communicate this message beautifully. Kate and Cecily's budding friendship, crossing the generational divide, and all the wonderful food descriptions and recipes make up for the ho-hum parts of the story focused on Kate's relationship problems with Nick (a chick-lit aspect that I usually have no patience for at the best of times).

Overall, a charming story about making meaningful life choices and the power of friendship.

Sweet and heartwarming, this is an excellent purchase for most general fiction collections, particularly those where women's fiction is popular.

I loved this story. Kate is 40 years old and moving back home with her mother. She's been dumped by her boyfriend and is in danger of losing her job. She starts visiting a nursing home demonstrating food and treating the elderly ladies. All goes well until 96 year old Cecily Finn starts criticizing her visits. Curious, Kate starts visiting Cecily in her room and they develop an extraordinary friendship with the common interest in food. This is the first book I've discovered by Vicky Zimmerman and I love her characters and writing style. I hope she soon writes another book. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was such a charming book. I loved the characters. The friendship between Cecily and Kate was sweet to follow along.

What lovely book - I have thoroughly enjoyed every page, the story oozed out of every page like a lovely chocolate desert with a gooey middle. This book is perfect for those who have read books by Ruth Hogan, Libby Page and Phaedra Patrick. The book was written my telling the story by reminiscing on Cecily part - a wonderful cantankerous lady, who made you smile as you read. Lots of books now seem to split the story and chapters over different characters which some times can be hard to keep track of -this was easy to follow and enjoy.
The characters were likeable and you felt that their lives were real.
It was a coming of middle-age book.

WARNING1 Do not read this book if you are dieting. It can only be described as Foodie Porn. Poor Kate is about to turn 40 and is enmeshed in a dead end job and a dead end relationship. Either one would serve as the theme of a novel but this book has another one too. She has had to move back in with her controlling mother. Oh, wait, there's one more and it's an important one. Kate has volunteered at an upscale assisted living facility filled with crochety wealthy old ladies.

OK, Kate's boyfriend puts their relationship on a break while they are away on vacation. Her former roommate has already rented out her room, hence the move in with Rita (Mom). Kate's job for the past 20 years has been as a descriptive food writer for a 3rd (or maybe 4th) rate supermarket. Boring!.

At her volunteer gig, Kate meets Cecily Finn, a 97 year old who, it turns out, has written a cook-book with wonderful recipes for every possible occasion. Author Zimmerman obviously loves to cook and to eat and some of the descriptions of these dishes will send you on a leftover hunt or to the hidden cookie stash.

The story may be predictable, but the backstory of Cecily Finn, based on family history, will keep you fascinated so you can handle the unsurprising elements. Beyond wanting to bake something, you will enjoy this funny and readable story. No one will want to read a book with this title and it's totally false. Change it, please.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to be occupied during the Coronavirus lockdown by giving me a preview copy.

This book is a heartwarming take of female friendship that spans generations with a healthy dose of delicious food!

I loved the friendship that bloomed between the main characters. We need more books with strong female friendships that transcend age, race, or life circumstances. This book defiantly fit the bill!

A sweet read with a great story that women of any age will fall in love with.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The cover is so bright and cheerful and that definitely resonated into the content of the book. This is a really sweet book that totally made me hungry and wanting to try out the recipes.

We find Kate at a hard time in her life, needed a new distraction. So she goes to cook for people.
There she meets Cecily who criticizes everything Kate cooks.
So Kate's cooking demos are soon canceled but she is asked to come visit Cecily.

Cecily has many stories to tell and has a room filled with books. She lets Kate borrow a very unique cookbook, that includes recipes with themes for different occasions; include reunions, a date with the man you want to marry, etc.

This story was so lovely. It really helped me recall some hard times I've been through. But it also helped me embrace the good times and made me want to cook more beautiful meals. Ultimately it reminds everyone to stop defining yourself by other people’s opinions of you, cause life is short and you deserve to make yourself happy too.

A great great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!

A lovely story that showcases the friendship between two generations.
This book is filled with love, laughter and mouth watering recipes.
A light read that puts a smile on your face and a tear in you eye.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

It’s not often you find a work of fiction that sets your mouth to water. Such is the case with Miss Cecily’s . Of course you have the main character Kate working to make sense of a romantic situation that is clearly one sided. Initially ignoring advice from anyone and forced to find work and diversion Kate is assigned to visit the elderly and finds the intrigue Cecily in residence. From the beginning it is Cecily’s staunch beliefs in the correct way to cook and eat and live that slowly bring Kate to the realization that her life needs changing. To me this reader it was the descriptions of her life with her husband Samuel that gave fire to the story,shockingly it is the revelation that Samuel died fairly early on in their marriage and the majority of her stories were the creation of what should have been . The recipes are simple , hearty, and sustaining, to quote not a quinoa in the bunch. The strength Kate finds through her friendship with Cecily puts a happy end to this tale .

Kate and Cecily are both trapped. Kate has spent decades in an unfulfilling job and is in love with a man who is more passionate about database migration than he is about her. After a long and adventurous life, Cecily is confined to a book-lined bedroom at a care center, unable to read or walk. Kate starts volunteering at Cecily’s care center as a second choice: there’s already a crush of people who want to play with the kittens at the animal shelter. Kate and Cecily develop a sometimes cantankerous friendship, and Cecily gives Kate a 1957 cookbook that inspires her to demand more of herself and for herself.

I loved this book. The voices of the two main characters are distinct, compelling, and sympathetic, and the device of the cookbook reveals the main characters and helps drive the plot. It also allows for some transcendent descriptions of meals. Don’t read this book when you’re hungry.

Part of the great fun of the book is the inter-generational banter. Here’s how Kate explains to Cecily that she’s been stood up by a suitor:

“It’s called ghosting, Mrs. Finn, and you can add it to your list of things you don’t ever need to know about, alongside Snapchatting your bottom, Instagramming your avocado toast, and every single one of the Kardashians.”

A lovely book a book about friendship between wo woe a forty year old ad a ninety five year old.Abook that is a warm emotional look at life.Add in cooking yes you’ll be hungry.A very special book#netgalley#sourcebooks

When her life falls apart on the eve of her 40th birthday, Kate Parker finds herself volunteering at the Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies. There she meets 97-year-old Cecily Finn. Cecily's tongue is as sharp as her mind, but she's fed up with pretty much everything. Having no patience with Kate's choices, Cecily prescribes her a self-help book with a difference. Food for Thought: a charming 1950s cookbook high on enthusiasm, featuring menus for anything life can throw at the "easily dismayed." So begins an unlikely friendship between two lonely and stubborn souls-one at the end of her life, one stuck in the middle-who discover one big life lesson: never be ashamed to ask for more.

What a truly beautiful story. A gap in age and becoming friends. Both are stubborn, true friendship forms. I Loved Celily and he strong, brilliant mind. A cookbook writer, and much more. I admit I cried and laughed. LOVELY cover and worth a hardcover buy.

This book made me hungry and want to cook something. I'm glad the main characters met and improved their lives. I found this to be like chick lit for older ladies. Fine for a quick, lite read. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I finished the book with happy tears in my eyes. This is a wonderful tapestry of love, food, sadness, loneliness, and experiencing the highs of life. Touching and contemplative while being fun and entertaining. This is defina5a five star read and I hope to find it on best seller lists!

I really enjoyed this book, particularly the relationship between Kate and Cecily. However, I really had to struggle to get through the first part of the book and into the place where Kate and Cecily meet. I understand that the author was trying to show the difficult relationship between Nick and Kate, but it would’ve made me happier to have gotten to Cecily sooner.

I think that the idea of the cookbook is fabulous, and I loved to see Kate’s growth and maturity evolving through the story of her relationship with Nick as well as her deepening friendship with Cecily.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The story of an almost forty year old, Kate Parker, who just about begins to feel settled and comfortable in a relationship when her partner decides he isn’t prepared for the next step and backs down, leaving Kate depressed and confused along with almost homeless too.

To divert her attention towards something positive she starts volunteering at a senior citizens home where she meets Cecily, an nonagenarian.

Cecily, having lived a rich and fulfilling life has strong opinions and a no-tolerance-for-idiots policy.
She takes an interest in Kate’s life and takes on the role of a guardian angel of sorts.

But you can’t really live anyone’s life for them or teach them to learn from your mistakes.

A very charming and delightful story with a very likable protagonist and well sketched characters.

Specially Cecily Finn, a fantastically developed character (based on the author’s own grandmother).

I also enjoyed the parts where Kate speaks her mind out loud whether she is confused or angry.

A very balanced and well written adorable book.

The one thing I did not really appreciate is when Cecily refers to the caregivers at the home just as “Filipinas” instead of as nurses or caregivers.
Even though that bit also is a part of Cecily’s character as she is feisty and lacks any sort of a social filter.

A wonderful tribute to a successful fully lived life and a great book of it’s genre.

Ever suffered a break up, had an indecisive love interest and love to cook? If you answered yes to any of these questions you will love this book. Kate is unhappy in her job and hoping to move in with her boyfriend when things take a turn. She meets an author, cook and world wind, Cecily who helps Kate to value herself. This is a modern Fried Green Tomatoes with a shared love pf good food as the glue.