Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times by Suzan Colon

When Suzan is laid off she starts economizing - which means, among other things, less eating out and more home cooking. Her mother's suggestion is to "look in Nana's recipe folder," buried somewhere in the basement. When she finally digs out the folder Suzan finds much more than recipes for sturdy comfort food. She also discovers a recipe for living a full life during lean times.

This memoir not only relates Suzan's life in 2008 when she is laid off from her dream job, but also the story of her grandmother's life during the Depression and World War II, and her mother's life as a single mother in the 1960's. The comparisons are hopeful, focusing not on what they lacked but on what they had and how they overcame the hard, lean times they faced. This is a wonderful, quick, timely read and I highly recommend it.