"Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table" by Shauna Niequist is a collection of essays about life, food, hospitality, and experiencing those sacred moments that can only be found around a table. The book includes not only recipes to try, but there are discussion questions at the end for a book club or a cooking club. She also includes tips for hosting a dinner party, as well as ideas for easy weeknight meals that can be thrown together quickly.

I appreciated Niequist's heart that celebrates the union of food and the hearts of people, creating a unique fellowship around a table. Faith themes run strong through this book, especially as she dives into how gathering around a shared meal creates a special sense of community. "And I believe that Jesus asked for us to remember him during the breaking of bread and the drinking of the wine every time, every meal, every day--no matter where we are, who we are, what we've done" (p. 252).

She shares candidly about her life, her insecurities, her fears when her newborn son was ill, her struggles with having children. Her writing style and vulnerability with sharing make this book an all-around winner. I started by slowly digesting two or three essays at a time, but that quickly sped up to devouring the entire book; it's really just that good.

"The table is the place where the doing stops, the trying stops, the masks are removed, and we allow ourselves to be nourished, like children. We allow someone else to meet our need. In a word that prides people on not having needs, on going longer and faster, on going without, on powering through, the table is a place of safety and rest and humanity, where we are allowed to be as fragile as we feel. If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health" (p. 258).

(I've received this complimentary book through the Book Sneeze program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)

Shauna Niequist blew me away with this book, which I read first, having received it as a gift. I subsequently went out and bought the other two books she has out there. Love them all.

I have given six away in the past 4 months. I am inspired and so are my friends who've received the books from me.

I hope she is writing as fast as she can!

I recently had the chance to read "Bread and Wine" by Shauna Niequist from a program at BookSneeze that offers free books in return for an honest review, whether positive or negative.

I can not say enough about this book. You just kinda want to snuggle with it under a blanket and a nice glass of wine. It's cute and funny with serious undertones in some spots. You learn about the authors life, her background, her family. Why she is the way she is. Why she lives the way she does. Why she eats (ha!) the way she does. This is just one of those books you want to get and keep on your pantry shelf forever.

And the food... good lord... can we talk about the food? The recipes in this book (there are like, a million... at least) look good enough in black and whit type to make you want to lick the pages- I can only imagine what they would be like on your table for real.

So this is such a lovely little book. Read it. Share it with your best girlfriend (and then ask her for it back).

The first thing that caught my eye from Bread & Wine was the cover. I'm a lover of typography & photography done right, so I was automatically drawn with intrigue to this book. The second thing that caught my eye was the title. Who doesn't love bread and wine? These two elements play a big role in the significance of my savior Jesus Christ. I thought to myself, "Could this book possibly bring a more practical aspect to these elements in my everyday life?". As I read this book, I realized that the answer to my question was a resounding YES!

Shauna Niequist inspired me to recall my earliest memories of eating and sharing a meal. Growing up in a hispanic culture, every event revolves around food. I have more memories of funeral meals than birthday/weddings ones. I wasn't necessary taught to love cooking but I was definitely taught to love to eat. I have always been skinny, something that my family misunderstood as an obvious cry for "feed me! I need to eat!". I was constantly being offered a plate of something I could not refuse (it's insulting to refuse food). Looking back though, I recognize the importance of meals and I'm able to create meals for my husband with enjoyment. There is this desire in me to love people through the ability to make meals. Guests that visit us at home know that I am always offering something for their enjoyment, whether that's a piece of homemade cake or a soothing cup of my delicious french vanilla chai. Discovering that I related to Shauna in that way made me feel as if I was a guest at her home & I was enjoying one of her delicious recipes!

"The impulse to feed is innate. Food is a language of care, the thing we do when traditional language fails us, when we don't know what to say, when there are no words to say. And food is what we offer in celebration–at weddings, at anniversaries, at happy events of every kind. It's the thing that connects us, that bears our traditions, our sense of home and family, our deepest memories, and, on a practical level, our ability to live and breathe each day. Food matters."

I enjoyed this book because it pushes you to make, create and taste. This book is not meant to be enjoyed in the covers of your bed; this book is meant to be a companion in the kitchen as you try the recipes in each chapter. You'll laugh, cry & value the honesty that comes from Shauna, all the while you're getting stains on your apron. True interaction at it's best!

But above all, you will leave with an appreciation for God and the way He created us to bond over a hunger that we all share in common, both spiritually & physically. May we remind ourselves of the importance that came from the Last Supper and may we apply it to our ordinary lives.

"When you eat, I want you to think of God, of the holiness of hands that feed us, of the provision we are given every time we eat. When you eat bread and you drink wine, I want you to think about the body and the blood every time, not just when the bread and wine show up in church, but when they show up everywhere–on a picnic table or a hardwood floor or a beach."

I already gave this book to a dear friend & I'm planning to give a few more away-that's the best way of appreciating a good read. You should definitely pick one for yourself!

I had heard good things about Bread & Wine from a friend and was excited to read the book myself. After hearing Shauna Neiquist speak at a Mothers of Preschoolers Convention in August 2012, I came to the conclusion that she was one of my favorite speakers there. I was drawn to her warm personality and humorous stories. She was honest, transparent, witty, relatable. I felt much the same way as I was reading Bread & Wine, being drawn to Shauna's warm, honest, transparent, witty, relatable and humorous stories about her life around the table.

I liked that Shauna included recipes in her book. After just reading the first chapter about her mom's blueberry crisp, I went out to buy the ingredients, made it and enjoyed eating it. I'm not much of a cook but in the chapter "start where you are," I felt encouraged that I could be good at it one day. Shauna said it so beautifully when she wrote,

"If you put in the time, the learning, the trying, the mess, and the failure, at the end you will have learned to feed yourself and the people you love, and that's a skill for life — like tennis or piano but yummier and far less expensive.

I'm not talking about cooking as a performance, or entertaining as a complicated choreography of competition and showing off. I'm talking about feeding someone with honestly and intimacy and love, about making your home a place where people are fiercely protected, even if just for a few hours, from the crush and cruelty of the day."

Whew! That takes the pressure off, doesn't it? It's not just about the food but about the relationships that are formed and nourished. I hope to make my home like that one day, a place where people feel safe and loved and encouraged. I also want people to see glimpses of God and his love for them when we gather and share our lives together.

Shauna is a great story-teller and I loved reading Bread & Wine. I learned that life is beautiful and messy, unpredictable, yet memorable. Invite people to come and share life with you around your own table.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.