Accidentally On Purpose by Kristen Kish
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Thursday!
So, I picked this book up on a whim;
Goodreads was having their seasonal challenge and heaven forbid if I walked away with 6/7 reading challenges completed.
I didn’t even know Kristen’s name, I just recognized her face as the host of Iron Chef. We all know by now that I’m a sucker for a memoir read by the author themselves, and I’d just gotten my monthly credit.
1 hour in and I was already floored. Hands on desk, lean the heck back. Who is this woman that I have watched for years and never known?!? Que frantic google, also, how the heck did I not know that she’d won Season 10 of Top Chef?!
The hours spent listening to Kristen were mostly spent on my walking pad, switching between listening to her and rewatching season 10 of Top Chef (now suddenly more aware of the behind-the-scenes). That, and listening while I abashedly made my own meals, usually apples & peanut butter, chicken fried rice or macaroni. At least, I figured my home-grown, home-made tomato sauce redeemed me somewhat. The inspired omelet the next morning, amazing!
For all of the time she spent in the food industry, and obviously detailed in her book, it was the level of insight she’s gained and the calm way she articulates it that really stood out to me:
“Travel wasn’t a daydream anymore, it was imperative. It felt less about being drawn to other places than it was about escaping to them”
“There are times in life where your resolve is really tested, and what you’re willing to sacrifice or tolerate or overcome in service of a larger goal comes into question. I’d let my social anxiety dictate a lot of my decisions up to that point.”
“Codependency can set in quickly, especially when you’re young and far from your family and not entirely sure who you are just yet. its easy to latch onto another person, particularly one who sees you one whom you love and you know loves you too and pretty soon you loose track of where you start and where that person ends.”
“There is a difference between nice and kind… leaders do not have to be nice, they have to be kind. Accommodating everyone does no one any favors, and part of being kind is holding people accountable. It’s about being able to encourage but also guide and correct and even discipline at times.”
“I don’t have children but that’s what I imagine it’s like. You realize that you can’t hold their hands on the bus, or sit beside them on their first day of preschool… it’s got to be so scary to let go, to be so vulnerable, to open yourself and your child up to the potential pains of the outside world. You just have to trust that you did your best and that you will continue to do so and hope that this extension of you, this piece of your heart will be kindly received into the world.”
“Every life has value, a narrative and to share it is to connect, humanize and create empathy”
“The difference between control and Agency. You can be open to accidental developments, to rerouting your course. Sometimes even in the absence of a map, without relinquishing your agency, if you accept and embark upon the new course and do so with commitment, devotion an intention. It becomes your own decision, one made in collaboration with the universe.”
By chapter 14, as she was describing the love that she has for her wife, I was crying right along with her. The amount of love, vulnerability and strength in this reading, at this particular moment, the words resonate so powerfully. But I think that is one that needs to be heard authentically, not just read in a review.
I think if half the people in this world had half the grace, self-awareness and love put forth in this book, the world would be that much better a place.
-Anna R.
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Kindle & Audible: US or CA
The Weekend Readers 
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