"Delectable. . . Huneven treats us to a savory plot that blends
spiritual yearnings with earthly pleasures. Forks out!"--Oprah Daily
* An NPR Best Book of 2022****
From critically acclaimed, award-winning author Michelle Huneven, a
sharp and funny novel of a congregational search committee, told as a
memoir with recipes
Dana Potowski is a restaurant critic and food writer and a longtime
member of a progressive Unitarian Universalist congregation in Southern
California. Just as she's finishing the book tour for her latest
bestseller, Dana is asked to join the church search committee for a new
minister. Under pressure to find her next book idea, she agrees, and
resolves to secretly pen a memoir, with recipes, about the experience.
That memoir, Search, follows the travails of the committee and their
candidates--and becomes its own media sensation.
Dana had good material to work with: the committee is a wide-ranging mix
of Unitarian Universalist congregants, and their candidates range from a
baker and microbrew master/pastor to a reverend who identifies as both a
witch and an environmental warrior. Ultimately, the committee faces a
stark choice between two very different paths forward for the
congregation. Although she may have been ambivalent about joining the
committee, Dana finds that she cares deeply about the fate of this
institution and she will fight the entire committee, if necessary, to
win the day for her side.
This wry and wise tale will speak to anyone who has ever gone searching,
and James Beard Award-winning author Michelle Huneven's food writing and
recipes add flavor to the delightful journey.
