At the age of seven, Barbara witnesses a frightening incident between
her parents. She goes on to spend much of her childhood toggling between
the happy family she longs for and the unhappy one she’s in but can’t
repair. Disturbed by the smell of rotting leaves and an uneasy feeling
about her father, she will spend half her life trying to get to the
bottom of the reasons why.



As an adult, a summer in Africa allows Barbara to live without
labels—wife, mother, daughter, sister—and become the woman she wants to
be: funny, compassionate, complex, and often flawed. The Red Kitchen
is the story of both Barbara and her mother, who, like many women, both
spend much of their lives surrendering to society’s expectation to be
one thing while yearning to be another. Ultimately, both women—in very
different ways—come of age, find the loving parts of their
mother-daughter relationship, and start living their best lives.