The Lost Art of Mixing

A Novel

An Indie Next Pick

“Lillian was a woman in love with a kitchen…”

A luminous sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients, and a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.

Lillian and her restaurant have a way of bringing people together. There’s Al, the accountant who finds meaning in numbers and ritual; Chloe, a budding chef who hasn’t learned to trust after heartbreak; Finnegan, quiet as a tree, who can disappear into the background despite his massive height; Louise, Al’s wife, whose anger simmers just below the boiling point; and Isabelle, whose memories are slowly slipping from her grasp. And then there’s Lillian herself, whose life has taken a turn she didn’t expect.

Their lives collide and mix with those around them, sometimes joining in effortless connections, at other times sifting together and separating again, creating family that is chosen, not given. A beautifully imagined novel about the ties that bind—and links that break—The Lost Art of Mixing is a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.

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Praise

“Erica Bauermeister writes prose delicious enough to devour.”

—Tiffany Baker, NYT bestselling author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

“Harrowing and graceful at the same time; this is some of Bauermeister’s strongest writing.”

—Seattle Times

“A master mixer of stories, Bauermeister writes about transition points, the ways in which people nudge one another into action, about doing what is right for one’s life and not looking back.”

—Portland Oregonian

“Warm, funny, and deeply comforting, The Lost Art of Mixing is a delight.”

—Booklist

“The individual stories were so compelling and woven together so seamlessly that I fell in love with every one of them…I think the author must have strung the words together with magic because they left me mesmerized.”

—FIRST for Women