I like to cook. But I do not use cook books or recipes. And I certainly do not watch food based television shows(they spike your insulin and grow the pathogens in your body). So, I had never heard about Sandra Lee before picking up this book.
Do they only have biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs about people from the Northeast at the Eugene Library? Because I have yet to find one that is about anyone from the South at all. I just grab a few and sit down with them to see which ones draw my interest the most.
Sandra Lee is a hard worker and overcame a lot in her life. I enjoyed her story and how she did not let her past pull her down. Or limit her success in any way. Just because you have a tough beginning does not mean anything other than your beginning was tough. Being able to handle tough times is a blessing in many ways. Which allows you to know you can handle a lot of things most people would have a really hard time with.
Decorating houses is not my thing. Being family oriented and hosting family events and/or dinners are definitely not my thing. But many women do these things and Sandra seemed to create a career out of catering to these needs and desires in women. I am sure many careers are made around the desires of women to be homemakers. And I do not think there is anything wrong with that per se. But I have no experience with these things or real desire to do them. So when I read books like this, I am reading to see how the other side lives. Or maybe how women live in general. I am sure that there are women like me who do not like doing domestic and traditional things, but I think we are the minority. I am sure a lot of the women who do domestic things don’t even like them, but they do them because they think they have to in order to be a good wife, mother, and woman. Maybe I am wrong.
Sandra Lee made a career out of window treatments. I have never shopped for a window treatment ever before in my life. When I was living in Las Vegas I had to get curtains for the back patio that had layers because the sun would shine through. That is the extent of my experience with window treatments. Never in my life did I think about getting more or making them look fancy as a way of improving my lifestyle or life in general. Women think these things I think. They think the better their curtains, the better lives they will have, right? I am pretty sure even if I had spent the time to research and get more fancy curtains throughout my life I would still be where I am today. No amount of curtains or fancy food would change much of anything. Although I do like food, way more than curtains.
I wonder what it would be like to be an average woman. And I suppose that is why I read books like this. I think average women think about curtains, cooking for a family, and hosting holidays. And I am so grateful in those moments that I am not average, because that seems like a bit of a prison. I am not saying that women should not do these things. I am just saying I do not want to. I know there are some women who enjoy these things. And I hope they have a blast with it. But I hope women who do not enjoy these things stop placing so much importance on them. Do we need to eat? Yes, we need to eat and if you have children you should feed them. Preferably, not microwaved or fast food all the time. Do we need curtains? Yes, but I do not believe the nicer the curtains the better your life. Do we need holiday meals and get togethers? Yes, but it does not have to be fancy to be a good memory. I have no clue what I ate on most holidays. As long as there wasn’t yelling, it was a good holiday. But many holidays when I was little involved yelling because my Mom felt it was a good time to yell and scream about her life. I think a lot of women do this too when they get stressed out by the gender roles that are pushed upon them.
I am not sure how I feel about all the gender roles that are pushed on women. I am not sure if women like Sandra Lee are trying to help women deal with those roles better? Or if they are perpetuating those roles more? Why do things that make you want to scream? If something makes you angry do it differently so it doesn’t make you want to scream.
Made From Scratch was a good book. I don’t write reviews on the books I read that I do not like. So I liked it. But I do not like the gender roles pushed on women. And I am glad there are women like Sandra Lee who try to make things easier on women who do still want to follow the gender roles. But just remember no matter how fancy your curtains or your dinners are they won’t fix how you feel on the inside. They won’t fix your life, no matter how much time you put into them.