This is a story about three devoted friends with distinctly different personalities who stick together through thick and thin. Last week, I hosted our July book club and chose the book The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale. I cannot remember a time when our time together has not ended in laughter and hugs.īut what does this have to do with Hummingbird Cake?

We forgive each other when one of us sticks our foot in our mouth (some of us need more forgiveness than others). Our experiences give us perspective on many of the books we read. We have supported each other through illnesses, relationship and job losses, concerns over our families, and a wide range of disappointment. I think you can imagine how much fun a group of project managers, human resource directors, financial advisors and accountants can have while attempting to paint martini glasses, holding a downward-facing dog pose, or rolling and stuffing ravioli! We know each other well enough to celebrate our successes and laugh at our failures together. Occasionally, we will branch out to try new things like canvas painting, yoga, and cooking class. We take turns hosting, with the hostess choosing the book and providing the discussion questions, food and drink. Over the years we have grown to this core group of 13 friends. The idea was conceived to form a book club, meeting once a month in our homes for discussion, food, fellowship and … of course, wine. In 2008, on the bleachers of a baseball field somewhere in the midwest, a subset of these women started talking about who was reading what between games. We have been accused of being a “wine club with a reading problem” but we do read, and we have a spreadsheet to prove it! For the past 8 years, the core of this group has met almost every month under the premise of discussing literature.

May I introduce you to the ladies of my book club: Andrea, Donnell, Heidi, Jean, Kim, Laura, Lisa, Mary, Mary, Michele, Tracey, and Vicki.

The secret to hummingbird cake