The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School

This is the funny and inspiring account of Kathleen Flinn’s struggle in a stew of hot-tempered chefs, competitive classmates, her own wretchedly inadequate” French, and the basics of French cuisine. Flinn was a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder—until her boss eliminated her job. So she cashed in her savings and moved to Paris to pursue her lifelong dream of attending the venerable Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Fans of Julie & Juliaand the late Julia Child will be richly rewarded by this vibrant tale of self-discovery, transformation, and ultimately love.

Kathleen Flinn has been a writer and journalist for nearly twenty years. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Sun- Times, Smithsonian, USA Today, Men-'s Fitness, The Globe and Mail, and many other publications.