Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie by Beth Howard

I bought this book as a gift for my mother-in-law who was holed up in a rehab center following surgery because she is arguably the Queen of Apple Pie in Athens County, Ohio. Then I read the first sentence: “I killed my husband. I asked for a divorce, and seven hours before he was to sign the divorce papers, he died.” Oh my. My mother-in-law is a widow. This might not be a cheerful little book about pie. Then, there was the line in the intro alluding to the legacy of pie appreciation she inherited from her mother which said, “If only my mom hadn’t made my dad that banana cream pie. Fuck pie.” I continued reading, and the book is now, happily, with my mother-in-law because it is the perfect book for her – and for you – if you love baking pie. Or if you love the famous American Gothic painting by Grant Wood. Making Pie is Beth Howard’s recap of her odyssey from despair in LA to the American Gothic House where she now resides in Iowa and runs the Pitchfork Pie Stand. Her journey, across American in a pie-themed RV, includes visits to famous pie establishments, her stints as a judge in county fair pie eating contests and her efforts to distribute free pie. This book charmed me.

Learn more about Beth’s story by visiting her blog - The World Needs More Pie