Friendship Cake FROM OUR EDITORS
This delicious first novel tells the warm and tender story of women's friendships among the members of the cookbook committee of the Hope Springs Community Church -- women whose gatherings with their new lady preacher produce much more than just a selection of marvelous recipes. As this remarkable story unfolds, you'll meet Beatrice, the town busybody, who never dreamed how many people she'd upset with her kindnesses; Jesse, who knows that the first thing everyone notices about her is that she's the only African-American in an otherwise all-white congregation; Louise, who, after 40 years of loving another woman from a distance, finally gets her chance to show how much she cares; Margaret, who sometimes wishes she didn't always have to be the strong one; and Charlotte, who is struggling to find her way as pastor of her first church. Working together, these five women share hopes and losses, new beginnings, and a whole lot more. And, as they exchange recipes and confidences, life goes on in their small North Carolina town, nourishing souls and welcoming all comers with the secret of making real Friendship Cake, along with other timeless Southern treats.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Good humor, tender moments, and life lessons abound in this heartwarming portrait of small-town Southern life that is anything but simple and quiet. Five churchgoing women from Hope Springs, North Carolina, animate this humorous, poignant tale of coming to terms with one's weaknesses, honoring the fragility of life, loving passionately, laughing through tears, and thinking with the heart.
The cast of colorful characters includes: freshman pastor Charlotte Stewart, who experiences a crisis of faith; no-nonsense Margaret Peele, a widow and town confidante; sharp-tongued Louise Fisher, who has loved another woman, Roxie, for over forty years and finally gets to show it by caring for her in the last stages of Alzheimer's; Jessie Jenkins, the only African American in an all-white church; and busybody Beatrice Newgarden, who turns out to be the most solid friend to them all.
As these five very different women come together to create a church cookbook, they quickly become a source of solace, support, and strength for each other. Each struggling to make sense of her life--her past" her relationships, her faith--the women share much more than recipes; they share their passions, loves, heartbreaks, and hopes. Celebrating together and mourning together, they develop a deeper understanding of and compassion for each other and a genuine appreciation for the softness of heart and toughness of spirit that joins them as women. Just as surely as delectable Southern foods such as sweet potato casserole, prune cake, pecan pie, banana pudding, and corn relish sustain the body, it becomes evident that friendship nourishes the soul. The women end up with renewed faith, rekindled spirits, and the ingredients for true and lasting friendship.
Here are timeless truths--about the complexities of faith, the virtues of friendship, the resilience of the human spirit, and good living in the face of a changing world. A homespun tale sprinkled with grace and peppered with humor, Friendship Cake serves up comfort food for the soul.
About the Author:
Lynne Hinton is the pastor ofthe First Congregational United Church of Christin Asheboro, North Carolina.
FROM THE CRITICS
Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction
When five women from the Hope Springs Community Church form a committee to create a church cookbook, they find they've embarked on a much more meaningful project than they'd ever imagined. An "uplifting" read that would "appeal to Jan Karon readers." "The recipes were good - I even tried two!" "I'd definitely recommend it." Others said, "This cake failed to rise. Hinton gathers key ingredients," but it just doesn't happen. "It has appeal, though it lacks flavor - like a fat-free snack."
Maya Angelou
I would welcome a friendship with Lynne Hinton. I would welcome an invitation to sit down at her table, but mostly I would welcome her next book.
Rita Mae Brown
Friendship Cake will give you plenty to chew over. Delicious!
William Mc Kinney
Friendship Cake could only have been written by someone who knows firsthand that anything can and does happen when faithful, flawed, quirky people gather together in religious congregations. Hope Springs Community Church may be the product of Lynne Hinton's imagination but it can be found on thousands of street corners and village greens across North America. I look forward to the sequel!.
William Mc Kinney
"Friendship Cake could only have been written by someone who knows firsthand that anything can and does happen when faithful, flawed, quirky people gather together in religious congregations. Hope Springs Community Church may be the product of Lynne Hinton's imagination but it can be found on thousands of street corners and village greens across North America. I look forward to the sequel!
Read all 7 "From The Critics" >
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Friendship Cake will give you plenty to chew over. Delicious! — (Rita Mae Brown, author of Rubyfruit Jungle and Outfoxed)
Friendship Cake could only have been written by someone who knows firsthand that anything can and does happen when faithful, flawed, quirky people gather together in religious congregations. Hope Springs Community Church may be the product of Lynne Hinton's imagination but it can be found on thousands of street corners and village greens across North America. I look forward to the sequel! — William McKinney - President and Professor of American Religion at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California and co-author of American Mainline Religion Studying Congregations)
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