A PASTE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIMEOUT NEW YORK'S BEST SUMMER BEACH READS OF 2017 The stunning and long-awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite's Culinaria--a candid, courageous, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual identity. Born into a family of Azorean immigrants, David Leite grew up in the 1960s in a devoutly Catholic, blue-collar, food-crazed Portuguese home in Fall River, Massachusetts. A clever and determined dreamer with a vivid imagination and a flair for the dramatic, "Banana" as his mother endearingly called him, yearned to live in a middle-class house with a swinging kitchen door just like the ones on television, and fell in love with everything French, thanks to his Portuguese and French-Canadian godmother. But David also struggled with the emotional devastation of manic depression. Until he was diagnosed in his mid-thirties, David found relief from his wild mood swings in learning about food, watching Julia Child, and cooking for others. Notes on a Banana is his heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career. Reminiscing about the people and events that shaped him, David looks back at the highs and lows of his life: from his rejection of being gay and his attempt to "turn straight" through Aesthetic Realism, a cult in downtown Manhattan, to becoming a writer, cookbook author, and web publisher, to his twenty-four-year relationship with Alan, known to millions of David's readers as "The One," which began with (what else?) food. Throughout the journey, David returns to his stoves and tables, and those of his family, as a way of grounding himself. A blend of Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, the food memoirs by Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Gabrielle Hamilton, and the character-rich storytelling of Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, Notes on a Banana is a feast that dazzles, delights, and, ultimately, heals. “Tender and honest, this reflection on what it means to grow up and find yourself will make dad both laugh and cry.” - No Real Simple, 25 Father’s Day Books That Cover All of Dad’s Interests Real Simple, 25 Father’s Day Books That Cover All of Dad’s Interests “A terrific contribution to understanding not only the experience of bipolar illness but the experience of life: warm, funny, poignant, and human.” - Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind “One of the finest portraits of bipolar disorder I have ever read.” - Paste “Ruthlessly candid . . . The book is funny and hopeful even during some of its darkest passages, a deft balancing act that has brought Leite pre-publication comparisons with Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris.” - Connecticut Post “Expertly walks the line between sad and funny . . . [Leite’s] firsthand account of mental illness pulls no punches, serving up an honest and open perspective on personal and family issues that are often swept under the rug.” - Publisher’s Weekly “A witty account . . . Logophiles will appreciate the author’s expansive vocabulary and readers will enjoy Leite’s ability to bring levity to a host of serious—and sometimes sad—subjects. The book gives a universal account of complications that many lives encounter, but Notes on a Banana brings levity and humor to the hardships the author recounts.” - Associated Press “A witty account . . . readers will enjoy Leite’s ability to bring levity to a host of serious—and sometimes sad—subjects. The book gives a universal account of complications that many lives encounter, but Notes on a Banana brings levity and humor to the hardships the author recounts.” - Associated Press “A tender, funny and sadly real story—one that will certainly resonate with readers.” - TimeOut New York “In his excellent memoir, Notes on a Banana , David Leite has managed the unlikely feat of combining a work of laugh-out-loud humor with the solemn subject of mental illness. A splendid and entertaining book.” - Dick Cavett “In hilarious, deeply honest prose, Leite has brilliantly captured the light and dark of bipolar disorder. But this book does so much more. It explores the relationships between culture and family, friendship and food, love and the body. A memoir about the astonishing resilience of the human heart.” - Marya Hornbacher, author of Madness: A Bipolar Life “In his masterful new memoir, David Leite weaves together three of my favorite things: food, humor, and debilitating mental illness. Notes on a Banana is beautifully crafted, inspiring, and poignantly honest. A must read for all foodies and memoir lovers who know the power food and family have to overcome nearly every obstacle in life.” - Josh Kilmer-Purcell, author of I Am Not Myself These Days “Masterful . . . Notes on a Banana is beautifully crafted, inspiring, and poignantly honest. A must read for all foodi