Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies

Kate is breaking up with her boyfriend, she's turning forty, and she hates her job.

What else could go wrong?

Well, there's Cecily. Somehow Kate gets wrangled into volunteering at an old folks' home and she meets Cecily.

What a character Cecily is. Blunt. Truthful. Out-and-out rude, really. But somehow she also inspires people to shed the old bad stuff and go for what you want.

A few quotes:


“That's one of the worst things about the whole indignity of getting old—things are taken from you constantly: your possessions, your hips, your eyesight.”

Zimmerman, Vicky. Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies (p. 124). Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.


“What can't be disguised must be utilized. Don't apologize—improvise.”

Zimmerman, Vicky. Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies (p. 367). Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.


“But she's learned that “closure” is something you only get in an episode of Friends. In real life, you live with mess and loose ends and unsent draft emails in your inbox.”

Zimmerman, Vicky. Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies (p. 368). Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.


“Oftentimes, when making a dessert, you'll find a pinch of salt brings out the sweetness in the dish far more than extra sugar. It sounds counterintuitive but it is a fact, and one I've thought about often. What's true in the kitchen is often true more generally in life.”

Zimmerman, Vicky. Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies (p. 376). Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.


“Male or female, that cat will be named Cecily because all cats are like Cecily—contrary, exquisitely standoffish, fussy about food—and sometimes they pretend they don't need you or love you even though they do.”

Zimmerman, Vicky. Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies (p. 377). Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.