After an insane Friday night concert, Trisha Yearwood didn’t sit around resting up for Saturday night’s double-header concert to roll around.
She and a group from FM 106.1 – including two lucky listeners – headed to Café Hollander for a chef’s table-like lunch with plate after plate of Hollander’s specialties.
From there, Yearwood headed across the street (and down the road a bit) to Boswell Book Company for a signing session of her recently released cookbook, "Trisha’s Table: My Feel Good Favorites for a Balanced Life." The book, co-written with her sister Beth Bernard, debuted at No. 7 on The New York Times Bestseller list.
The cookbook features both a healthier way to prepare old favorites and some good old-fashioned splurging. Trisha says she’s adopted an 80/20 rule when it comes to her delicate relationship with food: "80 percent of the time I make good choices, 20 percent of the time I left myself splurge a little."
The event, sponsored by FM 106.1, was tailored to Yearwood’s down to earth, everyone feels like family, personality. She stood for nearly two hours greeting about two hundred fans, taking pictures and autographing copies of her book.
Seems like a pretty standard affair, right?
Not so much.
What I learned about Trisha Yearwood Friday – that she’s probably one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met – was only reinforced by her contact with fans Saturday.
Each interaction felt leisurely and completely unhurried, despite the fact that she had to get back to the Bradley Center shortly after the signing wrapped.
One fan brought a tray of baked goods and another a coffee can full of daisies (in honor of a lyric in Yearwood’s song "Cowboys Are My Weakness"). That fan, by the way, traveled all the way from South Bend, Indiana to be at the signing (and no, he isn’t headed to either concert tonight – that’s loyalty).
The other things fans brought were their personal stories. Some told Trisha how she helped them through tough times. There were hugs, some tears and lots of smiles as Yearwood conversed about everything from a fan’s cancer survival to making a mess in the kitchen.
It’s safe to say that fans received more than they bargained for at Boswell Book Company on Saturday. They came away with not only an autographed cookbook filled with outstanding recipes, but a great memory with someone who took the time to listen to them.
In all of her experiences, time was focused on writing which has been a passion since junior high school. A series of food service industry jobs both before and after law school taught her that bringing out the human side in any story is key to great storytelling and good writing.
A die-hard east side girl, you'll usually find Lora down by the lake or on the Oakleaf. She's an avid photographer, and sometimes storm chaser.
Hobbies include biking, gardening, cross country skiing, swimming, blogging, and of course working on her fictionalized autobiography--fictionalized, because whose life is really interesting enough to fill 400 pages?
She's in IMDb. Look her up.
