Seven Princesses

From Joanne Lee Molinaro, author of the New York Times bestselling and James Beard Award–winning The Korean Vegan Cookbook, a searing memoir about womanhood, intergenerational healing, and resilience

‘May this extraordinary woman inspire you to think more deeply about your own story—and the indelible power inherent in sharing it.' Rich Roll

Joanne Lee Molinaro's award-winning recipes have always told stories of food, family and home, all beginning with three women: Joanne, her mother, and her maternal grandmother. Part of a Korean family that came to the United States in the shadow of war, their three narratives speak of love, survival and transformation.

From suburban life in Chicago’s Ktown during the 1980s to Ongjin, Korea during the Japanese occupation during the Korean War, Joanne brings to life her suburban upbringing, the church community, the sense of belonging it provided, and her journey to find the courage to leave an abusive marriage, interwoven with the extraordinary lives of her grandmother and mother, and the intergenerational strains of being caught between two cultures.

Through this beautifully entangled web of experiences, Seven Princesses celebrates women existing in the most precarious of circumstances, and tells a story that keeps repeating itself across the generations: one about a mother who gives up nearly everything for her daughter, and a daughter who spends the rest of her life trying to prove that she was worth it.