Charming, Heartfelt Story from the Heartland

While I don't live there any longer, I have a great affinity for Minnesota and the people of that state. This book was a really charming, heartfelt story - it didn't stray into sappy territory, which, had it done so, could have inspired a columns from Haze on the un-Minnesotan display of emotion. So many of the experiences Haze wrote about, however, were universal, and show how often humans repeat the mistakes and misunderstandings of previous generations, which is why her previously published columns inspire so much conversation and thought in Granite Creek's residents. There are some stories in it that are decidedly Minnesotan, though. While I was not living in Minnesota at the time of Paul Wellstone's plane crash, I learned of his legacy soon after starting school there, and reading Haze's column about his memorial echoed so many of the thoughts I heard from Minnesotans.
This was one of those somewhat quiet books that resonated deeply. I'll admit that I was hoping for recipes that were more of the small-town church potluck variety, but I loved the story of how Haze started including a few dessert recipes in the first place!