Muffins and Mayhem by Suzanne Beecher

Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes For a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher is a part memoir, part cookbook of Suzanne’s truly disorderly life. With absent parents, a teenage pregnancy, drug addictions, and a physical impairment, Suzanne’s story of how to overcome so many obstacles makes her novel an inspiring and emotional read. While she highlights the many pitfalls in her life, along with the glory days of opening her own restaurant and finding her husband, readers can see her compassion for baking and cooking, and how her love for the kitchen helped her along the way. Suzanne is a beautiful writer, even comedic at times, but I thought the plot jumped around a little too much for my taste. There are so many events and people that she wants to touch on, that at times the characters got all jumbled around. I did like the many recipes she shares with readers (I hope to try a few out myself) and the wisdom Suzanne evokes. I would recommend Muffins and Mayhem on that alone, but it also is an entertaining, quick read that I think chick lit fans could enjoy.