The old, tattered leather suitcase was a gift that cookbook writer Kitty Morse wasn’t expecting. Morse came across it in her mother’s closet in 2017, just after her mother died at 94. It took Morse three years to finally find the courage to open it. The suitcase was filled with family documents and photos that included her French-Jewish great-grandparents’ tiny notebooks: a journal of the family’s life being destroyed by the Nazis by him and a treasure trove of recipes by her that took Morse back to dishes her mother and grandmother made for her. After digesting all the material she started putting her thoughts down on paper, which evolved into her new book, Bitter Sweet. It’s emotionally resonant and filled with delicious recipes. You’ll want to have this book, especially once you learn more about its provenance. So I hope you’ll read my story on Morse and her book in The San Diego Union-Tribune.