Sometimes It’s the Fork

Sometimes, the road to finding yourself takes you right back to where you started.

Laurel Holden has spent her adult life traveling the world, writing about exotic destinations, fine restaurants, and luxurious resorts. She's made a career of never staying anywhere long enough to put down roots, and she's perfectly content with that arrangement. People, after all, have a way of complicating things.

But with her career faltering and her options dwindling, Laurel finds herself in Scroggins, Alabama, living in a modest house inherited from a grandmother she never knew. It's a temporary arrangement, she assures herself. Just somewhere to regroup until she figures out what comes next.

Unfortunately for Laurel, the people of Scroggins have never been particularly good at leaving strangers alone.

When word gets around that she's writing a cookbook about Southern food, everyone in town suddenly has a recipe to share. And naturally, every recipe comes with a story. Some are funny, some heartbreaking, and others reveal more about the people of Scroggins than Laurel ever expected to learn.

As she collects their recipes and discovers the histories behind them, Laurel begins uncovering secrets about her own family and the roots she's spent a lifetime avoiding. Somewhere between the kitchen tables, front porches, and unsolicited advice, she finds herself becoming part of a community she never intended to join.

With humor, heart, and an affectionate but clear-eyed look at Southern life, Sometimes It's the Fork is a story about family, belonging, and the unexpected places we find ourselves when life refuses to follow the road we've chosen.

Laurel Holden only meant to stop at the fork long enough to decide which way to go. She never considered that the fork itself might be her destination.