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Julie Powell
Presents...
About the Speaker
Julie Powell's intention upon moving to New York City from her native Austin, Texas, was to pursue a career in theatre. After years spent in various mind-numbing temp positions, Powell found herself at an impasse. In an interview with a Powells.com contributor, she described the emotional breakdown that was the impetus for writing her first book: "On the eve of my thirtieth birthday, stuck in a dead-end secretarial job, living in a hideous apartment in Long Island City, Queens, and dreading what seemed like a life of terminal mediocrity, I came up with a panicked notion--to cook through all 524 recipes of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in a year, and blog about it. Julie and Julia describes my efforts to hold on to my job, marriage, and sanity while blazing a nonsensical trail toward fulfillment, with Julia leading the way." The blog became an Internet sensation and generated an enormous following, evolving into an article in the /ew Yorker and a six-figure book deal. The result was Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen; How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, and Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living. The book chronicles Powell's often unsuccessful attempts at cooking from Child's recipes, including gastronomical disasters such as oeufs en gellée (poached eggs in jelly) and a kidney dish enhanced with hand-extracted bone marrow. More than just journaling her endeavors in the  kitchen, Powell also folds in stories of how her husband, friends, and blog readers partook of her journey, and how Child's philosophy ultimately inspired her to embark on a new career. 
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