“She is supposed to be a cold slab at the morgue right now, but instead she is going to eat Patriotic French Toast and go sailing. Because isn’t that why she had chosen The Cornwall with Matt? To go sailing on an America’s Cup winner? To feel the ocean breeze in her hair? To be the people who ordered ridiculous breakfasts to their rooms?”
~From The Wedding People, by Alison Espach
Newport, Rhode Island is the perfect setting for a perfect wedding in what I would call the perfect book. Though it was published two summers ago, The Wedding People has maintained its position at the top of my favorites list since I reluctantly turned the last pages and set it on the nightstand, completed.
Admittedly, in the first chapters I laughed right out loud and quickly questioned myself…is it okay to laugh at such a crushingly serious topic? I have mulled this over enough times to have internalized the importance of humor in dire situations. Having experienced my own personal life events since finishing the book, this entire concept has crystallized quite deeply within my soul. Not only is it okay to laugh in/at the most serious circumstances…it is actually imperative that we find lighter moments within those darkest days.
Alison Espach masterfully crafts a tale that weaves in themes of human connections, loss, self-exploration, and the absurdity of societal expectations without being the least bit cliche. Dynamic characters find their way into your hearts very early on and remain embedded there throughout the entire wedding week in all its ridiculous extravagance.
If Espach was aspiring to convey the message that the power of human connections is life-changing, life-saving in some cases, and that those connections can happen upon you in the most unlikely situations, she achieves her goal with clarity, humor, and beautifully crafted characters in an absolute gem of a novel.
As many of you know, books are not complete for me until I have created a recipe inspired from within its pages. In this particular scene (quoted above), Phoebe (the main character) and Lila (the bride-to-be) are ordering room service as Lila insists that Phoebe accompany the wedding people on a day sail off the coast of Rhode Island.
Although Phoebe and Lila have no idea what “Patriotic French Toast” might be, it seems as though the dining room would have sent a nice plate of sourdough French Toast adorned with fresh strawberries and blueberries…lightly dusted with some powdered sugar and served with maple syrup which very likely came from nearby Vermont.
You’ll find both the book AND the recipe to be well worth your time.
Hillary Danaher 