From KCRW, I'm Evan Klyman and you're listening to good food.

Walking through grief is a daunting task. To do it publicly adds an entirely different complexity of emotion.

In her new work, Tender Heart, Hedy Louis McKinnon confronts the loss of her father and

how his work shaped her future in food.

Hi, Huddy.

Hi, Evan.

So nice to be with you today.

Oh, we're so happy to have you.

Could you begin by reading from your essay in the book,

titled Loss Life and the Legacy that Lingers?

I would love to. I'll try and get through it without crying.

Okay. I have often felt estranged from the person I was before my father died.

So much of my living, my big moments happened in the

years following, graduating from university, getting married, having children, my career

and food, moving around the world.

Memory is fragile.

It is not easy to hang on to the voice, the touch, the laughter,

and the mannerisms of someone no longer with us.

But living away from home, geographically distant from my mother and my

siblings, has taught me that our past, our legacy is not always something we can hold

on to physically, but it already lingers deep within us. Food has always been emotional for me.

It is tied to my identity, my heritage, my family, and my community.

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