Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • From Scratch

  • A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
  • By: Tembi Locke
  • Narrated by: Tembi Locke
  • Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (122 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

From Scratch

By: Tembi Locke
Narrated by: Tembi Locke
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Now a limited Netflix series starring Zoe Saldana!

This Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller is “a captivating story of love lost and found” (Kirkus Reviews) set in the lush Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hours.

It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of his marrying a black American woman. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forged on. They built a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships, and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth. Eventually, they reconciled with Saro’s family just as he faced a formidable cancer that would consume all their dreams.

From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family, now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother-in-law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s romance—an incredible love story that leaps off the pages.

In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case, it is both. “Locke’s raw and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of their own loved ones” (Publishers Weekly), but her story is also about love, finding a home, and chasing flavor as an act of remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love, fought for what mattered most, and those who needed a powerful reminder that life is...delicious.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Tembi Locke (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Complete Jaipur Trilogy cover art
The Comfort Food Diaries cover art
Enough Already cover art
Ma and Me cover art
A Key West Food Critic Mystery Bundle, Books 1-3 cover art
The Covenant of Water cover art
Savor cover art
Tastes Like War cover art
To Lahore with Love cover art
The Secrets Between Us cover art
Just as I Am cover art
The Light of the World cover art
Everything Sad Is Untrue cover art
Love, Loss, and What We Ate cover art
The Things We Cannot Say cover art
It's Not All Downhill from Here cover art

What listeners say about From Scratch

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    75
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    86
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    74
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A story of love, loss, Sicily, family and food

The narrator was brilliant which is unsurprising since she wrote it! The story was pretty much homage to Temi's husband and the wonderful life forged together. As lovely as it was, it felt too long and waned two thirds in. Overall a good read and an insightful perception of Sicilian culture from an outsider's perspective.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

Well written, well paced. A story of love and loss at its best. I loved this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fantastic listen

I couldn't put it down far too short 🤣 loved the food and place descriptions. lovely Italian. Great/sad story..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Memoir

Brilliant story of love,endurance,forgiveness, family unity, sorrow, loss and life. It’ll blow your mind, This story will teach you of life lessons-and the peace and oneness of being embraced by different culture and land. It is the story of human understanding of themselves and the world in which to live. It is a story of why we are in this planet, to love and to be love whatever colour or race we are. From Scratch is a pure love. It’s an absolute life experience and teaching of what pour love looks like. Love ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love can be beautiful

Listening to this story reminds me of the saying “it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all”
This story will help others, understand what true love and intimacy is, it is filled with beauty in the midst of sadness. But it reminds us that as human beings we will know love and loss, but life can and will continue, differently than we may have imagined.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful!

Such a Beautiful Story!!!
I decided to buy the audio book after watching the movie. I’m glad I made that decision.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring

Moving, beautifully written and evoking images and memories of beautiful beloved Sicily. A must read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a interesting book.

l felt that Tembi had got the balance of this account of her life just right.
The message of her disaster in life was not overdone and the account of the cultures was good.
A very diversified structure and it proved thst "telling it as it is" brings the facts together, just right.
Well written and narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful love story wonderfully told

I rarely leave reviews of the audiobooks I read/ listen to but this was such a special book I needed to say thank you to Tembi. She shared her story in a way that totally made me feel like I could taste the food, see the Sicily way of life and feel the deep love and sorrow in the passing of Saro. I laughed and cried listening to it and I definitely recommend this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Just not quite sure ...

I started this book and got info in quickly and loved the beginning ... its narrated well by the author based on her own true story of love, loss and Sicily. I felt it rather lost momentum after the death of Saro and although great descriptive writing it wandered a little aimlessly from that point onwards. I have seen that it is being made into a drama for Netflix. I will watch it with interest to see how the second half of the story is handled

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful