A Paste Magazine Best Book of the Year
One of TimeOut New York’s Best Summer Beach Reads of 2017
One of Real Simple‘s 25 Best Father’s Day Books
“A terrific contribution to understanding not only the experience of bipolar illness but the experience of life: warm, funny, poignant, and human.”—Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind
“In his excellent book, Notes on a Banana, David Leite has managed the unlikely feat of combining a work of laugh-out-loud humor with the solemn subject of mental illness. A splendid and entertaining book.”–Dick Cavett
“Leite’s memoir is a true literary feast for the soul, presented with creative, honest prose, droll anecdotes, and…a happy ending.”–The Bay Area Reporter
“In sharp-tongued, often hilarious, deeply honest prose, Leite has brilliantly captured both the light and dark of bipolar disorder. But this book does so much more than that. Notes on a Banana explores the intricate relationships between culture and family, friendship and food, love and the body, body and soul. This is not a book about a disorderly mind so much as it is about the astonishing resilience of the human heart. Leite has written a book for us all.”—Marya Hornbacher, New York Times Bestselling Author of Madness: A Bipolar Life
“In his masterful new memoir, David Leite weaves together three of my favorite things: food, humor, and debilitating mental illness. Notes on a Banana is beautifully crafted, inspiring, and poignantly honest. A must read for all foodies and memoir lovers who know the power food and family have to overcome nearly every obstacle in life.”–Josh Kilmer-Purcell, New York Times bestselling author of I Am Not Myself These Days
“An honest look at overcoming a life fraught with anguish and obstacles, from an awkward youth through his turbulent teens and twenties, David Leite emerged as one of the best food writers of our generation. Notes on a Banana is the brutally forthright story of a man who found love, and finally his calling . . . in the kitchen.”–David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen
“A tender, funny and sadly real story—one that will certainly resonate with readers.”—TimeOut New York
“In Notes on a Banana, Leite bravely lets us into his world filled with family, food, mental illness and his struggle with coming to terms with his sexual identity . . . a beautifully-written book . . . poignant and rich, as some of us who love Leite’s work, have come to expect.”–Forbes
“Warm, witty, [and] sometimes heartbreaking . . . Fans of the author’s James Beard Award-winning website, Leite’s Culinaria . . . won’t be surprised by his wonderful sense of humor and his keen powers of observation . . . candid and charming.”–Booklist
“In this coming-of-age story and chronicle of self-acceptance, Leite impressively finds honesty and humor in the darkest of circumstances, making this a strong debut memoir. A brave and moving tale of food, family, and psychology.”–Kirkus Review
