Guest post by Carole Bumpus
As an author, I have often been considered a ‘genre-straddler.’ I suppose that’s not a positive thing, but, silly me, I took it as a badge of honor. You see, when I began to write, I had never taken a writing course and the thought of writing in only one category or genre never appeared on my radar. Then, after I retired as a family therapist, I began to travel abroad, and everything fascinated me. World history, family stories, favorite foods, regional traditions . . . Oh, my!
I hadn’t considered the idea of writing before, but I jotted down notes along with recipes as I went along. Only after my observations were submitted to an editor and landed in the hands of a publisher, did that pesky word ‘genre’ crop up.
“Why was this a problem,” I asked? Well, it seems this befuddling ‘genre tangle’ would fall into the hands of those sent into the world to sell my books. Or upon librarians or bookstore employees whose job it was to shelve my books. “Is this a memoir?” they would ask. “Or travel? Should it be placed in the cookbook section? Or how about historical fiction? Ah, with the pandemic, how about putting it in the Armchair Travel with a Culinary Twist section?”
You see, my first book, A Cup of Redemption, is an historical novel based on the life of an elderly French woman, Marcelle, and her daughter, Josiane, who were kind enough to teach me French peasant cooking, or cuisine pauvre, in my own kitchen. It was at my table that Marcelle’s story, which spanned from World War I to 9/11, began to spill out over the tarte Tatin and into the cups of coffee.
“What dishes did you serve as a young wife?” I had asked, glibly. “What were your favorite recipes?” Simple questions, I thought. But her answers completely changed my life and propelled me into a second career—yes, writing.
“Well,” she answered somberly, “it was during World War II, we were in hiding, and were lucky to find a potato or two!” She peered into her cup. “To have a real cup of coffee was a treat we were forced to set aside until the war was over.”
At that moment, my search for traditional French recipes collided with the reality of the life this dear woman had lived—and survived. How had she coped? How had she, as young single mother, manage during a time of war? Her story compelled me to search for better understanding of those who had experienced war on their doorsteps.
Unfortunately, by the time I was able to travel to France with her, Marcelle passed away. But, with the help of her daughter, Josiane, we began traveling all to unravel the threads of Marcelle’s life. And, oh the secrets that began to pour out at our feet. And to think those stories began with a simple request for a favorite family recipe.
The second book is a cookbook including the French dishes described in the novel. It is entitled, Recipes for Redemption: A Companion Cookbook to A Cup of Redemption. This cookbook, which I had never intended to write, opened Pandora’s Box.
The next book began my official culinary travel series, Savoring the Olde Ways. Books One and Two of Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, are an expansion of the novel but with many more families. The third book breaks away from France with a dalliance in Italy called, A September to Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table. More books are to follow.
All of my books begin with stories about food or favorite recipes or traditions but, I found, that was the door into the heart of family. “What favorite foods bring your family to the table?” I would ask. “How do you celebrate traditional holidays? And what impact does World War II have on your lives—seventy years later?”
But the question remains: Where would you find my books in a bookstore? Travel? Cookbooks? Memoir? Historical Fiction? And what about these books: Bowing to Elephants: Tales of a Travel Junkie by Mag Diamond? This memoir is a travel guide with a special interest in familial foods, but also a search for self through world religions. Or, Gap Year Girl: A Baby Boomer Adventure Across 21 Countries. A travel guide, yes. But this is Marianne C. Bohr’s memoir about taking a year off with her husband to travel to their ‘dream’ countries while still young. Then, there’s Barbara Ridley’s book, When It’s Over. She shared her own family’s story of living with war in England, but because this story is based on her mother’s story, would you find this book in history or historical fiction? That was the problem I faced with my novel, A Cup of Redemption. Remaining true to Marcelle’s story, I found I had to choose different ways, or genres, to tell my stories well.
A retired family therapist, Carole Bumpus commenced writing about food and travel after she first began traveling through Italy and France. She has published an historical novel, A Cup of Redemption (2014) and Recipes for Redemption: A Companion Cookbook to A Cup of Redemption (2015). Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book One (2019), Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book Two (2020), and A September to Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table (2021) are all part of her multi-award-winning Savoring the Olde Ways series. Visit her at www.carolebumpus.com
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