MARRYING THE KETCHUPS

“Getting older wasn’t the same as growing up, but she was grateful for it all the same.”

This delightful dramedy about a restaurant-owning family in Chicago is like a hearty meal you want to savor, hoping never to reach that last bite. The year is 2016, and as the country undergoes a seismic shift in politics, class and culture, so too do the lives of the Sullivans. Gretchen’s dead-end singing career, her sister Jane’s unraveling marriage and their cousin Teddy’s persistent ex may threaten to undo them all. The one constant in their lives has always been the comforting, dependable family restaurant - but is Sullivans’ stalwart or stagnant? How will they know when it’s time for a change when the whole world feels upside down?

This novel will comfort and challenge you. It will make you despair and laugh out loud (often). And it will force you confront your own complacency while plotting your own “radical act.” The struggle with adulting is real here, and the idea that we are all still figuring it out is reassuring - yet it begs the question, is anyone responsible in charge, anywhere? I loved how the push/pull of change is explored in this story, as a thing we can tentatively dip our toe in, and then dive with abandon when we feel just brave enough.

I absolutely ached to eat at Sullivans! The setting in the book felt so real; how can it be fiction? But instead of Sullivans’ specials, I made a fabulous brunch at The Marion, because change can be a good and beautiful thing, a path forward. On the menu: Rose’s famous bloody marys, and my own interpretation of Teddy’s snack toast: buttered egg in a hole with cheddar, chives and bacon. Reservations for this Sunday, please!