What do you think?
Rate this book
What She's Having: Stories of Women and Food
Food is about so much more than just the first bite . . .
What we eat can fill us up, satisfy our needs or leave us hungry for more. It connects us to our culture, defines our routines and flavours our fondest memories.
Whole stories are made across a dinner table, and in What She’s Having, sixteen writers explore the complex and meaningful relationships that women have with the food we cook, eat and share.
From an essay about elaborate meals for one, an ode to eating with your hands, a story about the love to be found in a plateful of pasta, and a tale exploring the darker side of what we crave: this is a collection that explores food and all its nuances – and celebrates each and every mouthful.
For anyone who loves reading what women have to say about food, this collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry is something to savour.
What we eat can fill us up, satisfy our needs or leave us hungry for more. It connects us to our culture, defines our routines and flavours our fondest memories.
Whole stories are made across a dinner table, and in What She’s Having, sixteen writers explore the complex and meaningful relationships that women have with the food we cook, eat and share.
From an essay about elaborate meals for one, an ode to eating with your hands, a story about the love to be found in a plateful of pasta, and a tale exploring the darker side of what we crave: this is a collection that explores food and all its nuances – and celebrates each and every mouthful.
For anyone who loves reading what women have to say about food, this collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry is something to savour.
Paperback
Published February 1, 2021
7 people are currently reading
672 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 28, 2021
I devoured this book! A combination of fiction, personal essays and poetry, there were so many parts I enjoyed! I loved Maria Ilona Moore’s ode to sun drenched apricots. Amy Feldman’s essay on food and identity resonated with me. Candy E.V Somerville’s poetry was a joy to read. I loved Syeda Salmah’s essay about eating with your hands and Kate Young’s essay about meals for one. Tutku Barbaros’s story was wonderfully written. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of writing about food!
March 14, 2021
A lovely collection of women's writing on the theme of food and eating, made up of eight pieces of non-fiction, five short stories and 3 poems. It's a great, rich theme for an anthology and the sixteen contributors all approach the subject in different ways; food as personal history, food as sharing and tradition, food as communication and language and expression, food as pleasure and fear and abandon and restraint. Sometimes anthology collections can get a bit samey but there was so much variety here, like the perfect zesty salad of little morsels.
It was especially nice to see food take on different moods - ominous and deliciously grotesque in Alice Slater's Of Blood and Blooming Flowers; tense in We Ate Tupperware Meals in the Language of Grief by Grace Safford; double-edged comfort and punishment in Candy Ikwuwunna's beautiful Prison Cake. Every time I read something and thought "oh that one, that one's my favourite," the piece that followed would be just as good, and in a totally new way.
Eating by Hand is a wonderfully warm dive into the joys of eating with your fingers by Syeda Salmah. Family and ritual, big and small, make Honey Cake by Amy Feldman and Love Is... L'Amore é by Lucy Porter feel so intimate in different ways. Maria Ilona Moore evokes the sun-drenched pleasure of ripping open a ripe apricot with your bare hands in Aprikosen, Marillen. E.V. Somerville's Remedies for Loss of Appetite is a tender invitation back to the table. Sourdough starters make two perhaps inevitable but very different appearances, once in Hannah Lawrence's sweet story of female friendship and coming out, Starter, and again in the much more sinister (and bitingly funny) Feast or Foe by Ettie Bailey-King (I really, really want to read Maeve's masterpiece). I felt nurtured by Tutku Barbaros' poetic, dancing An Apple Pie Life and seen by Terri-Jane Dow's Creatures of Habit (because sometimes food is hard!). Life is Still, Sorcha Collister's perfect juicy peach of a poem, is the very ideal note to end on.
I think I've missed a few in there, but there's really not a wrong note in the collection. Everything was a lovely bright little berry that bursts in your mouth. Absolutely delicious.
It was especially nice to see food take on different moods - ominous and deliciously grotesque in Alice Slater's Of Blood and Blooming Flowers; tense in We Ate Tupperware Meals in the Language of Grief by Grace Safford; double-edged comfort and punishment in Candy Ikwuwunna's beautiful Prison Cake. Every time I read something and thought "oh that one, that one's my favourite," the piece that followed would be just as good, and in a totally new way.
Eating by Hand is a wonderfully warm dive into the joys of eating with your fingers by Syeda Salmah. Family and ritual, big and small, make Honey Cake by Amy Feldman and Love Is... L'Amore é by Lucy Porter feel so intimate in different ways. Maria Ilona Moore evokes the sun-drenched pleasure of ripping open a ripe apricot with your bare hands in Aprikosen, Marillen. E.V. Somerville's Remedies for Loss of Appetite is a tender invitation back to the table. Sourdough starters make two perhaps inevitable but very different appearances, once in Hannah Lawrence's sweet story of female friendship and coming out, Starter, and again in the much more sinister (and bitingly funny) Feast or Foe by Ettie Bailey-King (I really, really want to read Maeve's masterpiece). I felt nurtured by Tutku Barbaros' poetic, dancing An Apple Pie Life and seen by Terri-Jane Dow's Creatures of Habit (because sometimes food is hard!). Life is Still, Sorcha Collister's perfect juicy peach of a poem, is the very ideal note to end on.
I think I've missed a few in there, but there's really not a wrong note in the collection. Everything was a lovely bright little berry that bursts in your mouth. Absolutely delicious.
June 9, 2021
Gimme gimme all the food writing.
January 22, 2023
Anthologies of food writing? Sign me up any day.
April 5, 2021
Some of my favourite quotes from the collection...
Now, if when I say Dijon the first thing that comes to mind is mustard, let me do you a favour: by far the best thing Dijon has to offer a student on an Erasmus year is crème de cassis: a liqueur made from blackcurrants. Did you know that the cocktail, Kir, is named after Félix Kir, former mayor of Dijon? Did you also know that you can add cassis to any wine, any one-euro-something bottle of wine, and it's instantly delicious? I hope this information reaches you in timea to be useful in your life. p 9
I keep it going until she's left the room and I can be sure the conversation is officially over, turning what was meant to be bread crumbs into dust in the process. P.30
I've often wondered how people eat fish with knives and forks; it sounds near to impossible to enjoy the true taste of the white flakes of tamarind-soaked fish with a cold, glinting piece of metal. P.59
The perfect apricot you can pull apart with your thumbs into two perfect halves. It is a rich glowing orange, the colour of a jar of marmalade in the sun p.67
Ezra tried to enjoy his life, make his days and weeks something to feast on, as much as he could. Uzo didn't know what to make of that. His days felt like cheese gone damp and mouldy, forgotten at the back of the fridge. p.86
That continues to be a mixed bag: elaborately planned meals, seafood as often as I can get it, plenty of cheese on toast, bowls of dumplings from the supermarket that I store in a bag in the freezer and eat drowned in sticky chilli sauce, fried eggs and chips on cold nights, roughly chopped salads, a whole freezer-chilled cucumber when it's unbearably hot, soup made with the guilty ends of the vegetable drawer. P.96
I love long dinner parties that stretch out like our elastic waistbands as we open another bottle of wine. I love pulling a friend into the kitchen with me while I turn the top of the crème brûlée to hard caramel, as my guests entertain and charm each other around the table. I love lunches with all the windows thrust open, light dancing on the walls of the dining room as the after noon marches on. I love hosting Christmas parties and Midsummer parties and birthday parties, and chatting away with the friends who stay to help wash up once everyone has gone home.
But so much of what I love about food are those specific details I really focus on when I'm eating alone: the taste of salted butter, and the way it seeps through toasted crumpets, the impulse and instinct and desire that kick in when you're dreaming up a menu; the soothing satisfaction of stirring a risotto slowly over a low heat; biting through the skin of a perfectly ripe apple; the flow of the seasons from one into the next and the ingredients that return to the market with reassuring consistency... P.97
Our gardens smell like jasmine, open coals and rolled tobacco. P.111
I presume she knows it all – give or take - anyway - really.
She doesn't need to know that most of my childhood memories involve sitting on curbs beside bookies with my fingers crossed hoping for good news when Daddy comes out.
She doesn't have to know that as all the casinos started to close I was relieved, only to find those bastard adverts transmitted straight to my home. p.111
Over time she fills in any gaps I'd clocked. I don't mention his always being in the garden at midnight taking hushed calls, I don't refer to the car that came to stay while she was away. I don't keep quiet for the purpose of secrecy, but because I know she already knows and she deserves some dignity. P.112
Now, if when I say Dijon the first thing that comes to mind is mustard, let me do you a favour: by far the best thing Dijon has to offer a student on an Erasmus year is crème de cassis: a liqueur made from blackcurrants. Did you know that the cocktail, Kir, is named after Félix Kir, former mayor of Dijon? Did you also know that you can add cassis to any wine, any one-euro-something bottle of wine, and it's instantly delicious? I hope this information reaches you in timea to be useful in your life. p 9
I keep it going until she's left the room and I can be sure the conversation is officially over, turning what was meant to be bread crumbs into dust in the process. P.30
I've often wondered how people eat fish with knives and forks; it sounds near to impossible to enjoy the true taste of the white flakes of tamarind-soaked fish with a cold, glinting piece of metal. P.59
The perfect apricot you can pull apart with your thumbs into two perfect halves. It is a rich glowing orange, the colour of a jar of marmalade in the sun p.67
Ezra tried to enjoy his life, make his days and weeks something to feast on, as much as he could. Uzo didn't know what to make of that. His days felt like cheese gone damp and mouldy, forgotten at the back of the fridge. p.86
That continues to be a mixed bag: elaborately planned meals, seafood as often as I can get it, plenty of cheese on toast, bowls of dumplings from the supermarket that I store in a bag in the freezer and eat drowned in sticky chilli sauce, fried eggs and chips on cold nights, roughly chopped salads, a whole freezer-chilled cucumber when it's unbearably hot, soup made with the guilty ends of the vegetable drawer. P.96
I love long dinner parties that stretch out like our elastic waistbands as we open another bottle of wine. I love pulling a friend into the kitchen with me while I turn the top of the crème brûlée to hard caramel, as my guests entertain and charm each other around the table. I love lunches with all the windows thrust open, light dancing on the walls of the dining room as the after noon marches on. I love hosting Christmas parties and Midsummer parties and birthday parties, and chatting away with the friends who stay to help wash up once everyone has gone home.
But so much of what I love about food are those specific details I really focus on when I'm eating alone: the taste of salted butter, and the way it seeps through toasted crumpets, the impulse and instinct and desire that kick in when you're dreaming up a menu; the soothing satisfaction of stirring a risotto slowly over a low heat; biting through the skin of a perfectly ripe apple; the flow of the seasons from one into the next and the ingredients that return to the market with reassuring consistency... P.97
Our gardens smell like jasmine, open coals and rolled tobacco. P.111
I presume she knows it all – give or take - anyway - really.
She doesn't need to know that most of my childhood memories involve sitting on curbs beside bookies with my fingers crossed hoping for good news when Daddy comes out.
She doesn't have to know that as all the casinos started to close I was relieved, only to find those bastard adverts transmitted straight to my home. p.111
Over time she fills in any gaps I'd clocked. I don't mention his always being in the garden at midnight taking hushed calls, I don't refer to the car that came to stay while she was away. I don't keep quiet for the purpose of secrecy, but because I know she already knows and she deserves some dignity. P.112
March 25, 2021
“At dinner, with his empty chair opposite me, I rotate my plate slightly, and pick up my fork.” I only bought What She’s Having, an anthology from Dear Damsels, so I could read Terri-Jane Dow’s essay, ‘Creatures of Habit’ — which, of course, is a gorgeous and stirring exploration of food and eating as a nexus of care, grief and love. But the fifteen other pieces in this book are exquisite and resonant too, coming together to form a delectable confection of a book, “stories of women and food”, covering grief and love, body image and disordered eating, the joy of nourishing others and the self, the hard, turbulent relationship that many of us have with food, in different ways: the story ‘Prison Cake’, by Candy Ikwuwunna, was perhaps the one I felt most kinship with. Elsewhere, I enjoyed the startling short stories of Ettie Bailey-King (‘Feast or Foe’), Alice Slater (‘Of Blood and Blooming Flowers’), and Hannah Lawrence (‘Starter’). There were also some superb poems, like Sacha Collister’s ‘Life Is Still’ & E.V. Somerville’s ‘Remedies for Loss of Appetite’; and, my favourite, many frank, unflinching essays, including Dow’s, Amy Feldman’s ‘Honey Cake’, Syeda Salmah’s ‘Eating By Hand’ — with one of the most real accounts of finding joy in the kinaesthetics of food. A gorgeous, gorgeously designed book — congrats to editors Abby and Bridie!
July 17, 2024
Joe Anderson has never married, and now, as his mother's life is drawing to a close, she requests that he retrieve a box from her closet. Inside, Joe finds all the letters he wrote to July at sixteen—letters that were never sent by his parents.
July, who owns and operates her diner in Galway, has kept her heart closed to men. Joe's sudden disappearance at sixteen shattered her. His unexpected return after so many years leaves her stunned and furious, unwilling to speak to the man who caused her so much pain.
Joe eventually opens up, explaining that his father took him to Germany, making it impossible for him to come back to her, and he had believed she never replied to his letters. He presents July with the box of unsent letters from two decades ago. Despite her reservations about rekindling their relationship, Joe has made a bold move by selling all he owns and purchasing a building just down the street from her diner.
The question remains: can Joe and July rebuild trust, release the weight of their history, and welcome a shared future?
July, who owns and operates her diner in Galway, has kept her heart closed to men. Joe's sudden disappearance at sixteen shattered her. His unexpected return after so many years leaves her stunned and furious, unwilling to speak to the man who caused her so much pain.
Joe eventually opens up, explaining that his father took him to Germany, making it impossible for him to come back to her, and he had believed she never replied to his letters. He presents July with the box of unsent letters from two decades ago. Despite her reservations about rekindling their relationship, Joe has made a bold move by selling all he owns and purchasing a building just down the street from her diner.
The question remains: can Joe and July rebuild trust, release the weight of their history, and welcome a shared future?
December 15, 2021
I devoured this book! A combination of fiction, personal essays and poetry, there were so many parts I enjoyed! I loved Maria Ilona Moore’s ode to sun drenched apricots. Amy Feldman’s essay on food and identity resonated with me. Candy E.V Somerville’s poetry was a joy to read. I loved Syeda Salmah’s essay about eating with your hands and Kate Young’s essay about meals for one. Tutku Barbaros’s story was wonderfully written. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of writing about food
March 23, 2021
Gorgeous, evocative, varied writing from women on the subject of food. I've been slowly making my way through this, picking it up whilst I wait for my coffee to percolate or dough to rise, and it has been a joy. I've discovered some new to me writers who I'm excited to see more from. I can't wait for Dear Damsels next collection
January 20, 2024
A brilliant collection - love women, love food!
My absolute favourites were: Eating by Hand, Aprikosen, Marillen and Love is L’amore é.
Special mentions to Of Blood and Blooming Flowers (visceral, just too creepy to be one of my faves!) and Creatures of Habit (a great portrait of grief/loss of a parent).
My absolute favourites were: Eating by Hand, Aprikosen, Marillen and Love is L’amore é.
Special mentions to Of Blood and Blooming Flowers (visceral, just too creepy to be one of my faves!) and Creatures of Habit (a great portrait of grief/loss of a parent).
March 4, 2021
I honestly loved every part of this book and fully intend to reread it many times! The non fiction was beautiful and rich, the fiction thought provoking and relatable, the poetry was to the point and decadent. Loved loved loved it
March 13, 2021
It's been a really hard week for me but this delightful collection of fiction, personal essays and poetry 100% managed to lift my spirits. The stories about the tender and melancholic nostalgia linked to some foods really hit home in a beautiful way. A real joy to read!
August 21, 2021
I absolutely adored this collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry on women and food. So many beautiful pieces on love, loss, identity and friendship, and not to mention the gorgeous cover! I thoroughly enjoyed this and can’t wait for more publications from Dear Damsels.
June 1, 2021
Really loved this collection—every bit of it.
August 30, 2021
This collection of essays and poetry was a true joy to read and I am so glad it found it's way to me.
January 7, 2022
It’s not a new joke but I devoured this in a couple of commutes - Including deliberately pausing to let the sections sink in. Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get round to it.
July 12, 2022
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, poems and articles about women, friends and food. Interesting writing
May 13, 2023
3.5
I really enjoyed the non-fiction pieces, but not so much the short stories and poems.
I really enjoyed the non-fiction pieces, but not so much the short stories and poems.
November 11, 2023
My favourites were ‘we ate tupperware meals in the language of grief’ and ’of blood and blooming flowers’.
January 31, 2026
A mixed bag - some of the stories were superb, others not so much. This book is good if you are into mindfulness and like to romanticise and appreciate ordinary things
May 26, 2021
first of all, the cover is sublime. the book is the perfect size and is so comfortable to hold.
i devoured this collection of stories. it was truly incredible and i loved switching from fiction to non-fiction to poetry, and learning about those women's experiences, desire and imagination revolving around food. I am really looking forward to the next Dear Damsel's issue.
i devoured this collection of stories. it was truly incredible and i loved switching from fiction to non-fiction to poetry, and learning about those women's experiences, desire and imagination revolving around food. I am really looking forward to the next Dear Damsel's issue.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews