"Fat is the New 30: The Sweet Potato Queens' Guide to Coping with (the crappy parts of) Life" by Jill Connor Browne

The Sweet Potato Queens are back and bawdier than ever in Southern belle extraordinaire Jill Connor Browne's ninth edition of the hysterical series. Having experienced pretty much ALL of the crappy parts of life, Brown feels it is her duty to render whatever assistance she can to her fellow sufferers - and she does so in her own inimitable fashion.

Her father taught her there are very few situations in life that we really and truly cannot change, and it is up to us to figure out how to either make fun OUT of them - or make fun OF them. And fortunately for the rest of us, Brown is well equipped for both. Including the exploits of the Queen contingent and her family, she delivers tidbits like:

• Thinking or talking about watermelon can save any negative situation.
• If you get drunk in Scotland, you can't have your cow with you.
• When sanity and reason fail, you can always cheerfully resort to ridicule.
• Denial means that every situation is perfectly perfect.

More fun that a Cracker Barrel full of monkeys, [this book] will change your life - or at least give you ideas for making fun of yourownself.

As always, an SPQ book is good for what ails ya. I laughed, and yes, I cried. Sometimes from laughing so hard, and at the end, from feeling the grief that Ms. Browne has felt at the loss of her dear mama.

I've read every book in this series, and I highly recommend them. There just really isn't anything else I can say other than read them for yourself. Funny, touching, thought-provoking, and always filled with at least one mouth-watering recipe.

In fact, now that I think about it, I find myself wanting something sweet. And something salty. And just generally yummy. Thanks Jill!