Description: For Pandl, the rite of passage into young adulthood included mandatory service at her family's restaurant, where she watched as her father--who was also the chef--rule with the strictness of a drill sergeant. In her wry memoir, she looks back on those formative years, a time not just of growing up but, ultimately, of becoming a source of strength and support.
Brief description: Julia Pandl was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she still lives and works. Memoir of the Sunday Brunch is her first book. When she is not writing and otherwise working, she moonlights as a stand-up comic. Author website: www.juliapandl.com.