justice unbound book club
REGISTRATION FORM
“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.”
Malorie Blackman
ABOUT PRAISESONG FOR THE KITCHEN GHOSTS
From Goodreads, Follow Legal Aid Society on Goodreads
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson is a lyrical blend of memoir and cookbook that reveals the untold legacy of Black Appalachians. Wilkinson, an O. Henry Prize–winning writer and former Kentucky poet laureate, revisits her family’s history through the foods that sustained five generations of Black women in Appalachia.
While baking her grandmother’s jam cake, Wilkinson felt her ancestors’ presence—her “kitchen ghosts”—guiding her hands. Their legacy is captured in nearly forty family recipes, including Corn Pudding, Chicken and Dumplings, Granny Christine’s Jam Cake, and Praisesong Biscuits. Through these dishes, she honors both the land and the women who nourished their community for over a century.
Weaving recipes, family photos, and lyrical storytelling, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts is both a culinary tribute and a cultural history. Wilkinson shows how food preserves memory, identity, and the power of belonging.