Title: Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me about Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits

Author: Reese Witherspoon

Publisher: Touchstone 2018

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Nonfiction Bingo - Celebrity Memoir; Creativity

Reese’s southern heritage informs her whole life, and she loves sharing the joys of southern living with practically everyone she meets. She takes the South wherever she goes with bluegrass, big holiday parties, and plenty of Dorothea’s fried chicken. It’s reflected in how she entertains, decorates her home, and makes holidays special for her kids—not to mention how she talks, dances, and does her hair (in these pages, you will learn Reese’s fail-proof, only slightly insane hot-roller technique). Reese loves sharing Dorothea’s most delicious recipes as well as her favorite southern traditions, from midnight barn parties to backyard bridal showers, magical Christmas mornings to rollicking honky-tonks.

A random library pick. This volume is a mix of recipes, how-tos, and memoir essays. I enjoyed reading about Reese’s background and family life growing up. The recipes were fun (must make a few of them) and the how-tos were interesting. Plus, the photographs were gorgeous! My favorite sections were the one about dinner parties and the one about book clubs. Loved these two! The one negative piece that I kept coming back to was the emphasis on life in the South. Unfortunately the Southern lifestyle described really only belongs to middle class (and above) whites. Overall, a decent collection of topics and essays.

Next up on the TBR pile: