Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic Depression

3.77 out of 5 stars

856 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 153841225X ISBN 13: 9781538412251

Publisher: HarperAudio, 2017

[*Read by the author - David Leite]

Notes on a Banana is David Leite's heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career.

The stunning and long-awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite's Culinaria -- a candid, courageous, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual identity.

Born into a family of Azorean immigrants, David Leite grew up in the 1960s in a devoutly Catholic, blue-collar, food-crazed Portuguese home in Fall River, Massachusetts. A clever and determined dreamer with a vivid imagination and a flair for the dramatic, ''Banana'' as his mother endearingly called him, obsessed over proper hair care, yearned to live in a middle-class house with a swinging kitchen door like the ones on television, and fell in love with everything French, thanks to his Portuguese and French-Canadian godmother. But David also struggled with the emotional devastation of bipolar disorder. Until he was diagnosed in his mid-thirties, David found relief from his wild mood swings in cooking, Julia Child, and a Viking stove he named ''Thor.''

Notes on a Banana is his heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career. Reminiscing about the people and events that shaped him, David looks back at the highs and lows of his life: from his rejection of being gay and his attempt to ''turn straight'' through Aesthetic Realism, a cult in downtown Manhattan, to becoming a writer, cookbook author, and web publisher, to his twenty-three-year relationship with Alan, known to millions of David's readers as ''The One,'' which began with (what else?) food. Woven throughout these stories are the dishes David loves -- the tastes that led him to happiness, health, and success.

A blend of Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, the food memoirs by Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Gabrielle Hamilton, and the character-rich storytelling of Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, Notes on a Banana is a feast that dazzles, delights, and, ultimately, heals.

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From the Back Cover

The stunning and long-awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite’s Culinaria—a candid, courageous, and at times laugh-out-loud-funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual identity.

Born into a family of Azorean immigrants, David Leite grew up in the 1960s in a devoutly Catholic, blue-collar, food-crazed Portuguese home in Fall River, Massachusetts. A clever and determined dreamer with a vivid imagination and a flair for the dramatic, “Banana,” as his mother endearingly called him, yearned to live in a middle-class house with a swinging kitchen door, just like the ones on television, and fell in love with everything French, thanks to his Portuguese and French-Canadian godmother. But David also struggled with the emotional devastation of manic depression. Until he was diagnosed in his mid-thirties, David found relief from his wild mood swings in learning about food, watching Julia Child, and cooking for others.

Notes on a Banana is his heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career. Reminiscing about the people and events that shaped him, David looks back on the highs and lows of his life: from his rejection of being gay and his attempt to “turn straight” through Aesthetic Realism, a cult in downtown Manhattan, to becoming a writer, cookbook author, and web publisher, to his twenty-four-year relationship with Alan, known to millions of David’s readers as “The One,” which began with (what else?) food. Throughout the journey, David returns to his stoves and tables, and those of his family, as a way of grounding himself.

A blend of Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind; food memoirs by Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Gabrielle Hamilton; and the character-rich storytelling of Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, Notes on a Banana is a feast that dazzles, delights, and ultimately heals.

About the Author

David Leite is a food writer, cookbook author, and web publisher. He founded Leite's Culinaria (leitesculinaria.com) in 1999. In 2006, he had the distinction of being the first winner of a James Beard Award for a website, a feat he repeated in 2007. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon App�tit, Food & Wine, Pastry, Men's Health, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications. His first book, The New Portuguese Table, explored the food of his heritage and won the IACP's 2010 First Book: Julia Child Award. David is also a frequent correspondent and guest host on public radio's The Splendid Table. He has been heard on NPR's All Things Considered and has appeared on United Stuff of America, Beat Bobby Flay, and the Today show. When no one is looking, he still dances in his underwear in the kitchen.