About Recipe for Joy
A cherished cookbook and poignant letters prompt a woman to reconnect with her estranged sister and embark on a revealing journey that forces her to reconcile sweet childhood memories with her soured adulthood, changing the course of her life—and her family’s—forever.
About Monica
Monica Comas is a novelist whose stories often focus on relationships—the thorniness, humor, and necessity of them. Her debut novel, Recipe for Joy, will be published in the spring of 2026.
Essay
Recipe for Joy, written at a tender time, is a love letter of sorts…a love letter to a special place and time, as well as to the author’s beloved mother, whose indefatigable spirit is threaded throughout the story’s characters.
Latest Blog Posts
Traditions Make for Happy Holidays
The holidays offer so much opportunity to lean into the happy. But I know all too well how it’s a difficult time for many as well. Missing loved ones can make this time of year feel especially tender…but I think traditions help. Not only do traditions evoke cheerful memories…
Read MoreAutumn’s Breathtaking Sparkle
September. Late-summer tomatoes lasted until the end of the month. Cool mornings whispered of days to come. Afternoons still felt steamy. Leaves, a mere scattering, drifted ever so softly to the ground. Sunlight glimmered, felt both warm and a winding-down at the same time. Nights rolled up earlier. Mornings arrived…
Read MoreSavoring Summer’s Magic
Here We Are It’s August, and I’m taking my time in appreciating the season…the way the sky softens then brightens early, how the sunlight lingers late into the evening. These are special days. The produce is abundant. Every piece of fruit is juicy. Tomatoes are plentiful (beyond plentiful!). It’s…
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