Finding Freedom

Have you heard of the Restaurant The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine?

Have you thought about the story behind a person who starts a restaurant or any other business for that matter?

Well this story was so powerful for me in so many ways. Yes, I live in Maine. I love food, I love books, and happened to purchase her cook book “The Lost Kitchen” for a gift for my daughter, hearing rave reviews and loving the idea that the recipes were based on local and seasonal foods.

Then a friend went to the restaurant and posted pictures from her meal on social media. I was even more curious. I heard you had to be in a lottery to get a reservation. I wasn’t sure if that would work for me at this time so I decided to read her biography and get the back story.

OMG. I could not put the book down. It had me riveted, chapter by chapter.

The power of a story is remarkable. You can really find connection in some or all parts. At this point in my life I found connection in most parts of Erin French’s story. I would say she has had a pretty human life and has experienced significant adversity. The impact of her early childhood eventually caught up with her as it always does. This story sheds quite a bit of light on what many if not most children experience in different ways growing up in rural towns across the country. The impact of “survival” on each child’s parents from generations of trauma, poverty and war are evident when you see the patterns evident in the experiences she shares. The impact was on her relationships, of course the most important relationship, the one she had with her self. Like many of us we don’t realize the impact of childhood adversity until we have experiences such as divorce, health issues or addiction of some kind. We know how prevalent these conditions are and where they come from, but it’s hard to hear. By reading this book about a famous restaurant you can get a first hand experience, not only about the adversity but about how the healing happened. Yes, there is a happy ending and a great deal of resilience.

The promise of hope this book provides is heart filling. And her life is just beginning… in so many ways.

From parenting, to marriage, to being a daughter and a friend, this book hits on all of the relationships and nuances one can imagine.

The Table of Contents highlights the key concepts that are covered along Erin’s journey: HOPE, UNITY, PROSPECT, LIBERTY and FREEDOM

I could really relate to the chapter “Who Saved Who?” about when she rescues a dog - if you have ever done that, and intentionally done that when you are going through a challenging time, you will relate to the idea of having a companion who provides unconditional love when you need it most.

I won’t go on, because I don’t want to spoil the story for you. But I would love to hear from you if you read it and which parts you connected to most. I can’t wait to go to the restaurant now!

I hope you enjoy this book and find it healing and inspiring for you!