Ann Hood

An Italian immigrant watches her six children grow up while she searches for her seventh, the product of a love affair who was given up for adoption. In turn-of-the-century Italy, fourteen-year-old Josephine, sheltered and naive, is forced into an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't know or love who is about to depart for America, where she later joins him. Bound by tradition, Josephine gives birth to seven children. The last, Valentina, is conceived...

The painful and courageous journey toward adoption made by several of her clients forces Maya Lange, founder of The Red Thread, an adoption agency that specializes in placing baby girls from China with American families, to confront the lost daughter of her past.

In this warm collection of personal essays and recipes, Ann Hood nourishes both our bodies and our souls. From her Italian American childhood through singlehood, raising and feeding a growing family, divorce, and a new marriage to food writer Michael Ruhlman, Ann Hood has long appreciated the power of a good meal. With Hood's signature humor and tenderness, Kitchen Yarns spills tales of loss and starting from scratch, family love and feasts with friends,...

On the morning of her wedding day, Katherine flees to the home of her old college friend Lucy, who reluctantly agrees to put her up, in a story about women who must learn to know one another again.

"The rhythm, ritual, and pleasure of knitting are celebrated in this new collection for lovers of both knitting and literature. In [this book], two dozen writers write about the transformative and healing powers of knitting. Lily King remembers the year her family lived in Italy, and a knitted hat that helped her daughter adjust to her new home. Laura Lippman explores how converting to Judaism changed not only Christmas but also her mother's gift...