Made from Scratch

Suprisingly Disappointed

I just got done with Sandra Lee's book "Made From Scratch" I must say that I went into this book with an open-mind. I have seen her on her daily cooking show and I thought she is adorable and seems super-nice, I have made a few of her recipe's and although they were just okay (nothing to write home about) I was hoping her story would be much more home-made.
I was dissapointed and let me exlplain why. I found her childhood to be unfortunate since she was sent to live with her Grandmother, but she makes her Grandma to be a saint doing EVERYTHING perfect. I couldn't understand why when later in the book she leaves her mentally-ill mother she goes to her Father and not her Grandmother. There were many moments in the book where you wonder if this is all made-up or maybe too Danielle Steele insired story telling. I continued to read however... she leaves her mom and siblings behind and doesn't seem to have any trouble moving on with her life.. it's like this through the whole book. There's no moment of "I need to save my siblings from this horrible person!! I need to call 9-1-1"...instead she talks about a great boyfriend and joining the pom-pom team..... just doesn't make sense- I found alot of similarities between her and I but her actions were far from what would seem to be the normal reaction (example her step-father Molests her, yet she stays in touch with him through her college years and never attempts to remove her siblings from him? It's not till he refuses to give her money that she severs ties??) I found this book confusing. As she gets older she talks about her gazzilionaire husband and this jet-setting life and how she goes here and there-it's kind of annoying after the 20th trip to Saint Tropez.. suddenly she loses her entire Kurtain business and then she's back on her feet suddenly deciding to do semi-homemade?? She also goes on to say that she wrote 7 cookbooks in 2 years? Thats not quality it's quantity! She seems to have such a hard life but she takes a Eurpean trip every 2 pages! Thats doesnt seem hard to me....it's a little unrealistic and it felt like she was trying too hard to come down the same level as her audience, it is kind of weird like that... I think it takes guts to right a book about your life, but I couldn't really buy this sad-story (sorry Sandra) but there are alot of people out there with much more struggles! In the end of the book she talks about being at the Doctors office becuase he thinks she might have Ovarian cancer, I totally got choked up thinking "finally realistic sad story... then in one sentence "no, it wasn't ovarian cancer afterall!" I was reading like "WHAAAT!" I couldn't understand why she would even write about it! Then it hit me "just another sad story to add to her collection of sad stories! I thought the only part of her whole life was sad was her depressed Mother, however she lived with her real mom for a few years! I found this book VERY hard to relate too! I'm glad I got this book free from the Library and didn't spend $24.95 on this book, it's a check out book not a keeper.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Will inspire and make you think

I was captivated the first part of this book and could not put it down. She looks like someone who has lived an entirely different life but turns out she came from a disfunctional family and heart-breaking turn of events. In fact, if I would have read this book earlier in her Food Network career I would have liked her more. Being a cook myself, I thought her shortcuts and mixology was not enough for a show - way too sophomoric for average cooks. But now I understand her concept.

However, I do feel she, like Oprah, surrounded herself with the right people to get where she needed to go. Perhaps a rough upbringing spurs a desire to get ahead more than others. She married a very wealthy, much older man and rubbed elbows with the elite and those in the Hollywood circle - I don't believe that was destiny. Sorry. I believe she was driven to make something of herself with her work ethic and marketing sense.

In the end, I like her more now after reading her story and yes, this book will make you think more about your own destiny and marketability with endeavors in life.

I love inspirational biographies...

She definitely inspires you, but I feel that right in the middle of the book, the author starts writing without passion, then she picks it up again. I don't know how to explain this, but it really helped me see that there is too much out there, and that we forget to see this at times.

Inspiring

Great look into the life of one of America's best cooking/style experts. Her story is encouraging and inspirational. When you think you can't, pick up this book to remind yourself you can. It just takes a little hard work!

Very Good.

I really enjoyed this book. It just goes to show that people who have had complicated childhoods can make it big. She had real determination and went on to do big things.

I enjoyed this book

I have seen Sandra Lee on television and enjoyed her recipes and home ideas. She had a very rough upbringing and rather heart breaking relationship with her mother. She virtually raised and took care of her siblings for many years. She describes how her love of pretty things and a nice "dream" home inspired her to start her various businesses. I was captivated how she managed to meet the right people and make things happen. I was also impressed with how many people in Hollywood she has not only met but become good friends with. She is an inspiration to anyone who thinks they can't make something happen. She was so focused on making her books and television show becomes successes and continues to have an impact in the business. It was also intersting to know that she was successful at one point and then lost everything. But she turned around and came right back again. What a gal!

A BOOK OF MEMORIES.

MOST REVIEWS HAVE BEEN QUITE UNKIND TO MISS LEE. RETRACT YOUR CLAWS!ALL OF US HAVE OUR OWN "SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET(S)".GIVE MISS LEE A CHANCE AND HER COOKERY BOOK/MEMOIRE. AS BEEN STATED HER LIFE GROWING UP CONSISTED OF A BETTY CROCKER COOK BOOK AND HER CREATIONS W/BISQUICK.FOR A 12 YEAR OLD!COULD ANY OF US MANAGE THAT AS ADULTS?PREHAPS THE REVIEWERS ARE JEALOUS OF HER MAKING LITERALLY NOTHING INTO AN EMPIRE. YES, HER GRAND-MOTHER LITERALLY SAVED HER LIFE AND THE LIVES OF HER SIBLINGS.IF NOT INTERESTED,BUY ANOTHER COOKING AUTHOR'S BOOK. YET, GIVE MISS LEE A CHANCE AND REAP YOUR OWN CULINARY REWARDS!

train wreck

This book is full of inconsistencies. Even the title is a misnomer "Made From Scratch," from the queen of 70% prepared 30% fresh?? The reader is asked to acknowledge that while Sandra lived in poverty, the family took a trip to DisneyLand? Supposedly having worked for such a long time without a vacation Sandra goes on a cruise with her grandmother? (I should be suffering so!) While on the cruise she shares a recollection of their vacation to Hawaii together--last year! I realize the book is a memoir, not an autobiography, but the continuity/believability is so poor it wouldn't even pass as a fairy tale. Reads like 70% self-serving fiction, 30% fact.

Inspirational Memoir

I am so happy that one of my co-workers surprised me with a copy of Sandra's memoir. It was truly an inspiring book that continues to enourage me to be the best that I can be, no matter what.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sandra recently a guest on the Valder Beebe Show

Made From Scratch by Sandra Lee Meredith Books 'November 2007' Sandra Lee, food Network Star, Lifestyle Expert and New York Times best selling author opens her life to share about her up bringing. A memorable week-end read about a media personality. Sandra recently was an interviewed guest on the Valder Beebe Show to talk about Made From Scratch. She is very warm and engaging personality and feels more like a ¿More that Just Girlfriends¿ 'a segment on the show' when I interview her. Her book was written according to Sandra to show that the American Dream is obtainable by anyone, she just happened to have made her dreams come true by using life recipes of Made from Scratch.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Super Successful Food Network Chef

Sandra Lee is so incredible-she is only 40 and is such a success. I enjoyed seeing her wedding photos and I do understand her info on the pre-nup. She showed them-she bought back her own company and has left it all in the dust. A totally new life, a new love from a famous political NYC family, I am staying tuned for more............

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Made from Scratch

I am a fan of Sandra Lee & even more so now. I drove 40 miles each way to get this book early & I just finished reading it-Wow!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Made from Scratch

Sandra Lee's life has been somehthing else and to think she is only 40! Wow. I highly recommend this life story (so far) I cried & felt for her every step of the way. To think she is still working so hard to make life easier for all of us women.........

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I was hoping for some insight as to how Sandra Lee got her own show on Food Network. No spoilers here --read the book and learn the whole story! I don't understand why some people say she has neither any cooking skills or a basic command of the English language. Her excellent recipes and this well-written book prove otherwise.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Weekend Read!

This book reminded me of a few very important life lessons: Everyone needs someone who believes in them no matter what. In the case of this book it was Grandma Lorraine. The picture painted in words of this amazing woman makes me think of the 'Grandma Lorrianes' of my life and remember to be thankful for them. You get to choose what and who you become no matter who or what happens in your life. What happens to you does not define you. Nothing is impossible. Sandra took impossible situations and created beauty and success from them because she didn't know she couldn't. This book is an inspiration to anyone who comes from a less than perfect background. I have been inspired by this book and am glad that I picked it up.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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