We get a glimpse of the ups and downs of growing a business while trying to still have a life away from work. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Breadsong is also a cookbook full of Kitty's favourite recipes, including: - the Comfort loaf made with Marmite, and with a crust that tastes like Twiglets - bitesize queue nibbles, doughnuts with an ever-changing filling to keep the bakery queue happy - sticky fika buns with mix-and-match fillings such as cardamom and orange - Happy Bread covered with salted caramel - cheese straws made with easy homemade ruff puff pastry - the ultimate brown butter and choc chip cookies with the perfect combination of gooey centre and crispy edges. The first half tells the story of Kitty and her struggle with mental health, and how baking (introduced by her dad) lifted her out of that dark place.

Join the Tait family's journey from personal difficulty to family business glory in this delightful recipe-book-come-memoir.And while Orange Bakery became a huge success, it was definitely a gamble for her parents to put so much time and money into something like that. Kitty is a strong woman with a wonderfully supportive family who not only allow her to recover in her own way without worrying about her schooling but help her every step of the way. The memoir element is a beautiful insight into a sadly very relatable theme - tackling mental health issues as a family while finding creative outlets for tension is one that I feel will strike a chord with a lot of us.

It was so enjoyable, I loved every minute, it was so interesting and despite my preconceptions (thought they must have had a bit of money to start something like this) I was completely wrong and it was completely inspirational how this happened. I bake (unprofessionally), although not as much as I used to thanks to a Neurological condition I have developed, but I still try to when I can. Tenacity and passion permeate Breadsong, a moving, life-affirming memoir and recipe book by Kitty and Al Tait that celebrates the joys of bread-based baking … The family's amazing story is alchemized with equal amounts of inspiration and deliciousness.The book jumps between Kitty and her dad's perspectives and is all the better for it - it's great seeing both of them reflected equally in the final thing. This is an incredibly beautiful book that chronicles a girl’s tumble into crippling anxiety and depression and how baking and her father’s partnership in this pursuit brought her back. After a few whirlwind months, she and her dad opened the Orange Bakery, where queues now regularly snake down the street.

Throughout the two year journey, Kitty found ways to cope with her anxiety and was able to get mostly back to her old self but still credits bread baking with what turned things around for her. There's even a vegan cookie recipe I'll be trying today, but I'll definitely be trying to veganize those snickers cookies. You reading it means everything to me' Kitty Tait Breadsong tells the story of Kitty Tait who was a chatty, bouncy and full-of-life 14 year old until she was overwhelmed by an ever-thickening cloud of depression and anxiety and she withdrew from the world. Kitty, of course, is also very honest: she didn't know why it happened, either, and makes no excuses for it, or for feeling the way she did.One part inspirational memoir, one part delicious and rustic recipes, combined to make a wholesome and inspirational cookbook that I’m proud to display on my shelves. I am always interested in how people cope with a mental health issue especially when you are still in your teens and in full time education. A journey which very much speaks to my own family’s experience and which has helped me enormously as a floundering parent in unchartered waters. It's profoundly obvious but there are just some things that are bound to help when you're not feeling well or when you are stressed and walking a dog or baking some bread or spending time with loved ones should be up there with things doctors prescribe. The instructions are clear, and I liked how the recipes worked together as a collection - using bases covered earlier on to develop different flavours and bakes, for example.

I like the description of the characters in the local community and the support and kindness they provide as well as Kitty's gradual increase in confidence. At the back are loads of great recipes from bread to cakes to cookies so people of different ability’s can join in and bake.Young Kitty’s sudden struggles with anxiety and depressive thoughts take a backseat to her newly-discovered enthusiasm and knack for bread baking, a talent that ends up becoming a business run by her and her dad. I have been baking bread for many years now and at some point discovered and made my own sourdough starter. It’s recipes are easy to follow and adapt to suit your own tastes - it is filled with bakes you want to make (and eat) and Kitty’s casual and chatty narration is the perfect accompaniment to the recipes. Tenacity and passion permeate Breadsong , a moving, life-affirming memoir and recipe book by Kitty and Al Tait that celebrates the joys of bread-based baking .