Ina's memoir is personal and thoughtful. Her charm comes through in candid reflections about her fascinating life, and her young life's adventures and missteps are as intriguing as the accounts of her eventual success.
Ina Garten, often called by the name of her former specialty food shop in the Hamptons (and television show), Barefoot Contessa, offers a personal, charming memoir in Be Ready When the Luck Happens.
Ina shares her life story, beginning with a difficult, abusive childhood, continuing to her marriage to Jeffrey while she was still in college, to her government job writing the nuclear energy budget and policy papers under President Ford and President Carter, then a flight of fancy that changed everything when she bought and learned to run the Hamptons store Barefoot Contessa--necessitating extended time apart from Jeffrey and, eventually, a very real scare that the relationship wouldn't survive.
I looked forward to getting back to this book each time I could, and I was as charmed by Ina's guileless storytelling as by her blend of delightful spontaneity, creativity, practicality, and stubbornness.
Ina is candid and thoughtful, offering business tips, personal reflections, and a wry sense of humor. She was and is organized, determined, and in constant search of new challenges. She defies logic at times when her inner voice tells her to jump into a new adventure, and Be Ready When the Magic Happens outlines various exciting moments (learning to fly a plane; diving into store ownership and taking initiatives to revamp the business) as well as personal decisions (the difficult choice to live in the Hamptons while Jeffrey lived in Tokyo for an extended period; deciding not to have children).
I was most intrigued by her young life with Jeffrey; camping in Europe on $5 a day; her early adventures in business; her missteps and pivots; and examples of her relentless work ethic. I was less engaged by the later casual mentions of Ina's elite lifestyle--celebrity friends, elaborate remodeling--and her interjection of her television show's catch phrases. I did enjoy the book's ending, which focuses on the famous guests on her "Be My Guest" television show, but I loved Ina's personal stories the most.
Ina reads the audiobook version of her story, and I enjoyed listening to her voice as she relates key elements of her life.
I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book!
If you enjoy memoirs, you can find Bossy reviews of my favorites here.
And check out some of my favorite foodie memoirs here.
I just finished listening to this!! Everyone loves Ina, and now I do, too! I have some of her cookbooks on hold, and planning on hosting my book club in Dec with a Ina focused menu. Agree that the best parts were her personal story, her “coming of age” and feminist pursuits during an era where her aspirations were unheard of. I recently listen to a podcast where Abby Wambach’s told the T Swift afterparty story from her perspective and it made me laugh. And that Jeffrey, what a gem!!