Notes on a Banana Audiobook Summary
The stunning and long-awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite’s Culinaria–a candid, courageous, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual identity.
Born into a family of Azorean immigrants, David Leite grew up in the 1960s in a devoutly Catholic, blue-collar, food-crazed Portuguese home in Fall River, Massachusetts. A clever and determined dreamer with a vivid imagination and a flair for the dramatic, “Banana” as his mother endearingly called him, obsessed over proper hair care, yearned to live in a middle-class house with a swinging kitchen door like the ones on television, and fell in love with everything French, thanks to his Portuguese and French-Canadian godmother. But David also struggled with the emotional devastation of bipolar disorder. Until he was diagnosed in his mid-thirties, David found relief from his wild mood swings in cooking, Julia Child, and a Viking stove he named “Thor.”
Notes on a Banana is his heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career. Reminiscing about the people and events that shaped him, David looks back at the highs and lows of his life: from his rejection of being gay and his attempt to “turn straight” through Aesthetic Realism, a cult in downtown Manhattan, to becoming a writer, cookbook author, and web publisher, to his twenty-three-year relationship with Alan, known to millions of David’s readers as “The One,” which began with (what else?) food. Woven throughout these stories are the dishes David loves–the tastes that led him to happiness, health, and success.
A blend of Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind, the food memoirs of Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Gabrielle Hamilton, and the character-rich storytelling of Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, Notes on a Banana is a feast that dazzles, delights, and, ultimately, heals.
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Notes on a Banana Audiobook Narrator
David Leite is the narrator of Notes on a Banana audiobook that was written by David Leite
David Leite is a food writer, cookbook author, and web publisher. He founded Leite’s Culinaria (leitesculinaria.com) in 1999. In 2006, he had the distinction of being the first winner of a James Beard Award for a website, a feat he repeated in 2007. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Pastry, Men’s Health, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications. His first book, The New Portuguese Table, explored the food of his heritage and won the IACP’s 2010 First Book: Julia Child Award. David is also a frequent correspondent and guest host on public radio’s The Splendid Table. He has been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered and has appeared on United Stuff of America, Beat Bobby Flay, and the Today show. When no one is looking, he still dances in his underwear in the kitchen.
About the Author(s) of Notes on a Banana
David Leite is the author of Notes on a Banana
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Notes on a Banana Full Details
Narrator | David Leite |
Length | 11 hours 58 minutes |
Author | David Leite |
Category | |
Publisher | HarperAudio |
Release date | April 11, 2017 |
ISBN | 9780062660657 |
Subjects
The publisher of the Notes on a Banana is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Biography & Autobiography, Gay & Lesbian
Additional info
The publisher of the Notes on a Banana is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062660657.
Global Availability
This book is only available in the United States.
Goodreads Reviews
Alice
February 03, 2017
In a beautifully written memoir of self-discovery, David Leite takes us on a journey of finding the true balance in his heritage, his sexual orientation, his bi-polar disorder and his deep and abiding love of food. With the anchor of strong family and culture, the author mines the depths of mental illness and the aching journey of diagnosis to find balance and, ultimately, happiness. From the author of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite’s Culinaria, David Leite has given us a feast of a journey to devour in this piercing memoir.
Glenn
April 11, 2017
I laughed, I cried, I smiled and I felt the emotional roller coaster of Davids life, love and mental health challenges.. David shares his love of those that provide a foundation to his development both in balance and relationships. From Barry to Paul, from Bridget to Ronnie, from Becca to Alan... David shares the emotional peaks and valleys that helped form his love of life, family and food.
Sarah
August 11, 2020
I laughed! I cried! I just really loved this memoir. Leite is such a charming, humorous, original, and piquant writer, even when writing about the ups and downs of living with undiagnosed bipolar II disorder. He so exceptionally depicted the physicality of a panic attack and the descent of anxiety and depression in a way I’ve never seen before. There were moments where I wanted to shout, “This! This is the feeling!” And the way he writes about food and its (mega important) role in his life is just woven in so naturally—I feel it could have been really easy for him to focus on the success he’s had in that world but none of that really emerges until closer to the end. But, the way he writes about flavor and cooking and family and connection is just *kisses fingers.*Delightful. And, a really great depiction of what life might look like for someone living with a serious mental illness. He really gave his readers an intimate look at what was happening in his brain and body during the ups, downs, and swings in between manic and depressive states.
Meg
January 18, 2021
Absolutely beautifully written. Made me sob and laugh, which is the best kind of book in my opinion. Leite’s vivid and raw descriptions pull you directly into his emotional and mental state throughout the memoir. Peppered throughout are these luscious and striking food vignettes that instantly remind you that he is also a phenomenal food writer.
Kitt
May 05, 2017
Loved Leite's Self-Deprecating MemoirAs a mental health advocate and bipolar blogger, I've read A LOT of writing by those of us living with mental illness -- with bipolar disorder in particular. What makes Leite's different and enjoyable is his incredible self-deprecating sense of humor. Humor can literally save your life. Don't underestimate it as a coping mechanism. Check out Chapter 33 for the psychiatric interview in which Leite was diagnosed bipolar II. I even published a blog post quoting it, I was so impressed. Even though I use the term bipolar disorder, I agree with Leite that manic depression is more accurate and descriptive of our experience.
Rachel
August 15, 2018
Entertaining, funny, and so true to life about living with bipolar. I would give this more than five stars if I could.
Jamie
May 27, 2017
Beautiful book! Funny and heartfelt...food and family. What more can we ask for in a book?
Kelley
January 15, 2018
Really enjoyed this memoir that is well-written, witty, comical, and entertaining. I enjoyed learning about his Portuguese family, food, and culture. Also enjoyed about reading about his journey to love and to his successful career. Most importantly, I appreciate that David brings the audience into how manic depression has impacted his life, helping to share understanding and appreciation for mental illness.
Gina
October 03, 2017
This audio was not quite what I expected, but by the end, I was sad it was over.
Megan
September 24, 2020
As someone who also deals with mental health, i could relate. It takes alot of courage to open up about your life to complete strangers, lots of laughs and tears, i enjoyed every second!
Mark
August 21, 2017
I absolutely loved Notes on a Banana. I sensed a kindred spirit in David Leite - James Beard-award winning founder of the popular website, Leite's Culinaria - with every page. I didn't grow up Portuguese, but I had grandmothers who were incredible cooks and loved assembling family around the table to share in the delicious meals they created. That desire to immerse myself in good food and share it with the ones I love is what inspired me to become a baker.I, too, like David, loved acting as a kid - putting on my own performances in my bedroom, wondering about that day when I would one day be "discovered". This also translated for me into a college education built on fine arts - namely, acting and theatre - and I continue to be an actor in several Milwaukee-area community theatres today (sadly, professional theatre has eluded me).Also like David, I suffer from depression - though probably not to as manic a degree as he does. I understand the ups and downs, and those days when you just can't seem to drag yourself out of bed, or are too frightened to face what the day will bring. You can't pinpoint a reason for these feelings, hard as you try. I am also a gay man. I could identify with so many of David's thoughts and fears about coming out... and wondering if you will ever find your one true love in a community that all too often finds temporary solace in only one-night stands and shies from commitment.There was so much I could identify with in this book - I laughed, I cried, I savored every bit. The epilogue at the end truly had me teary-eyed. I'm so thankful to David Leite for so openly and honestly sharing his story with us.
Judith
May 14, 2017
DISCLAIMER: I'm a straight woman. I don't have any medically recognized mental illnesses; other than a strong streak of Polish veneta. Yet, this book pierced my heart in ways that were totally unexpected. I'm writing this review on Mother's Day, so I'm thinking about being a mother. I cannot even begin to imagine the trembling heart and hands when David Leite handed this book to his mother. A mother's job is to protect her child, to make life a better place. And maybe David was afraid his mother would be angry or outraged at this raw version of the anguish of David's childhood. Could she have sought medical help sooner for her son's peculiar behavior? Could she have recognized the struggle to be a whole gay man instead of a tortured wannabe straight man? Maybe this is a raw wound that will always be there for both mother and son. But, it is also a testament to the power of family love. Some part of David knew that his mother and father could read about the pain, the struggle to accept their son's mental illness struggles and his decision to be openly gay and he knew they would love him even more. To be even more proud of his accomplishments. And even to be proud and forgiving of themselves because to write a memoir this honest, this raw, takes an exceptionally brave and unique person. I don't identify with David's specific struggles, but I most passionately identified with the struggle to be yourself. Kudos to David Leite for elegantly telling his tale that touches the heart in so many ways.
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