The Julia Child Primer on a Life Well Lived

Sometimes something about the title of a book or a short description I hear about it tells me that I just need to read that book. Like there is something in there that I need to hear, some way something is expressed that is going to mean something important for me.

This sort of intuition led me to read The Seven Storey Mountain, one of the most influential books I’ve ever read, and now it’s led me to My Life in France by Julia Child, which has had a similar effect.  I already have two friends in line to read it, and I want to give a copy to just about everyone I know.  It’s that good.

Like a lot of folks I’ve spoken with, I became interested in Julia Child’s life after seeing the movie Julie & Julia.  In the film, Child seemed so buoyant, joyful, and determined, and like the kind of person you just want to be around.  Reading her book has only made me more certain that I would have loved to have known this singular lady.  Because that’s not possible, I am grateful to have this insight into her experiences as a woman, a wife, a cook, and an author.

My Life in France is more than a memoir of time lived in a foreign country—it is a unique and liberating coming-of-age story (the book starts when Child is thirty-seven years old), a real and honest love story, and the chronicle of one of the most significant publications of the twentieth century.  It’s also filled with gorgeous food and stunning scenes of France and other countries. This book is everything I want in a good read, most everything important to a life well lived.  And, as you might expect, there are a number of simple lessons about life that flow organically from Child’s memoir.

The course material is easily comprehendible and the student can start learning at sildenafil australia any time. viagra uk cheap You should take 1000 mg for a period of 5 years after that. The knees side effects from cialis should be about hip-width apart. The most popular and recommended treatments are drug therapies (which include pills like viagra pill for woman additional info, viagra) and herbal or natural solutions. I’m sure I can’t express these nuggets of wisdom as eloquently as Child and her co-author (her nephew, Alex Prud’homme).  But as much for my sake to keep these things in mind as for my desire to share them with you, here’s a primer on what I’ve learned from Julia Child:

–       Work diligently to do things the right way.  The rewards of honestly and fully putting your mind to something are unparalleled.

–       Having a partner that encourages you—and that you encourage—is one of life’s greatest blessings.  Appreciate it fully, and always put that relationship first (my parents taught me this, too).

–       Don’t make excuses (I really don’t mean to quote Wedding Crashers here, but I think I just did!).  Do things to your best ability, and when something doesn’t turn out as planned, make the best of it, keep on moving forward, and most of all, learn from it.

–       Good food and good friends are two of the greatest joys in life—enjoy them!

And if I may offer a final piece of advice of my own: read this book!  Then call me afterward, and let’s giddily discuss our newfound inspiration and lease on life!