I picked up the late Julia Child’s new book at the library last week, My Life in France. From the first page of the introduction, I was swept away.

Co-authored by her grand-nephew, Alex Prud ‘homme, the book contains 79 photographs and letters written by Julia and her husband Paul to Alex’s grandfather. It’s a travelogue, a woman’s dreams of youth, a love story, a memoir.

In the introduction, Julia shares her advice for surviving a French dinner party: “Just speak very loudly and quickly, and state your position with utter conviction, as the French do, and you’ll have a marvelous time!”

Julia Child passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 13, 2004, two days before her ninety-second birthday. This book was released only a few months ago.

I checked out My Life in France, hoping my husband would have time to read it — he’s still fluent in French, and we dream of taking our children there someday.

I told him this morning, “What fascinates me about that book — why I simply MUST read it — is that Julia went to France in 1948, not knowing a word of French, yet something happened there. She had some kind of awakening. I want to know what happened! What got her started on her dreams?”

He laughed and said, “You love that topic, don’t you? You need to write a book about that.”

If you’re a foodie or you love French culture, here’s a book to add to your Christmas list. Bon appetit!