The more I lead From Memories to Memoirs writing workshops, both at The Writing Salon and in private practice, the hungrier I get to teach more memoir. Maybe that’s because of my exposure to writers cooking up food-fueled memoirs.

This recent streak includes works-in-progress by my high school friend Jennifer Czizek Kastner and by my Minneapolis friend-in-law, Chef David Fhima. Next came VC Tang, whom I met on a local arts group Zoom and then at her performance/presentation where she fed us literally and literarily,

Soon after, my youth sports coaching friend, Carolyn Sideco, brought me to a cultural festival disguised as a book launch for Bernard James Remollino’s Pancho Villa: World Champion, 1923. There, Chef Alex Suniga (@masarapthehomie) spoke movingly from the podium about deepening ties to his Filipino heritage through his cooking. 

Then I saw this:

Obviously, I had to attend. Carolyn joined me, and we ran into VC, who knew Carolyn from church, so it was a full circle moment. Carolyn kindly shot these videos of me learning even more from an author whose work already had infiltrated my memoir workshop and will continue to do so.

After her reading, Jill Damatac graciously agreed to sign my copy of Dirty Kitchen with my Sailor fountain pen when I hoped out loud that might mean her memoir magic would transfer to me.

She even sketched a reference to a taste we share.

Now you know “how the sausage is made” in creating From Memories to Memoirs.