My Life in France: Julia Child

I finished reading this book this morning, and I absolutely loved it.  I have always respected and admired Julia Child.  I remember watching The French Chef on PBS when I was a little girl.  

I found this book to be completely engaging from the the first page to the last. Reading about Julia Child's experiences living in France during the 40's and 50's pulled me right into the story.  It was enchanting and Julia is the type of person I would want to travel with.  Julia was so very opened to adventure and embracing life. Embracing life with love, laughter and adventure and joy is the only way to live as far as I am concerned.

Julia in France

 

Julia was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams on August 15, 1912 in Pasadena, California.  Julia grew up in a household where not even her mother cooked.  The family had someone to come in and cook meals for them.  Julia's father John was a staunch republican and Julia later on became a staunch democrat.    Julia had no interest at all in cooking until she married Paul Child whom she met in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka).  
  

Julia in class at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.

 

Julia found that she loved cooking and being in the kitchen.  Cooking became an obsession for Julia.  She loved everything about it including the preparation to begin cooking  I admire Julia's love of cooking and being in the kitchen.   I enjoy cooking too and love my kitchen, so I can totally relate to Julia's insistence on creating the perfect professional kitchen to cook in for herself.  I loved reading about her copper pots, heavy mortar and pestle and other kitchen gadgets. I am crazy about all that stuff too.   I also loved reading about all the fresh ingredients that were used in the cooking of all the food.  
 

 I knew that Julia was tall, but I had no idea that she was 6'2" tall. 

I am so happy to know that Julia had a very loving and supportive husband in Paul Child.

My Life in France, is also a travel essay.  Julia describes Paris the way it was in the 1940's and 1950's and does and excellent job of it too.  Julia made me wish that I could have experienced Paris back then too.  
 

 Stairs in Monmartre

In the book Julia also tells the story of how she came to be one of the authors of Mastering The Art of French Cooking for American audiences.  

This is a photo  of Julia Child's kitchen when she relocated back to the United States.
 

Julia Carolyn McWilliams Child (1912 - 2004).  Julia was 91 years old when she left us.

5 Stars