Thursday, January 2, 2020

Tracey Enerson Wood - Food, Family, and Military Life


St. Petersburg writer Tracey Enerson Wood comes from a family steeped in military tradition. A member of a multigenerational military family and an active-duty military spouse for thirty years, Wood decided to use her writing talent to honor veterans in a unique way – by chronicling their tales in a cookbook. “I thought about how our family enjoyed getting together around the dinner table and telling stories over a meal,” she says. “Then I thought about all the stories that would fade away if they weren’t documented, and I decided that’s what I needed to do.” The result is Homefront Cooking: Recipes, Wit and Wisdom from American Veterans and Their Loved Ones, a cookbook Wood describes as “a little piece of American history.”
 
Wood came to Florida from Alaska in 2011. “It was paradise,” she says. “After eight years in Alaska, I was ready to thaw out on the beach.” The retired registered nurse was also ready to pursue her more creative side. She studied interior design and started her own business. She also decided to try her hand at writing.

“I always enjoyed writing,” she says. “I wrote some columns for trade magazines and a few short stories. I also wrote a play. Seeing my work on the stage was the most thrilling thing ever.” After taking two years of writing courses, she wrote a screenplay. “It was a big, splashy historical. I was told that it would be too expensive to produce as a movie, so it was suggested that I write it as a novel.” So she spent another two years working on The Engineer’s Wife, a historical novel based on the woman who got the Brooklyn Bridge built. “I like to write about women who are little known in history,” she says. The Engineer‘s Wife will be released by Sourcebooks in April, 2020, and is available for pre-order at all major booksellers.

For Wood, the most difficult thing about being a writer is the solitary nature of the craft. “Most writers are more introverted. I’m not. The long hours in isolation are hard for me. It takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication and discipline to do good work. I’d rather be out playing." So Wood began collecting stories from veterans and their families to create a cookbook/memoir that spans from the Civil War through today’s battlefields in the Middle East.  “The biggest challenge was getting recalcitrant veterans to share their stories,” Wood admits. 

The project caught the attention of celebrity chef Robert Irvine who contributed his personal recipe for Braised  Beef Shortribs.  All author proceeds from Homefront Cooking will be donated to the Robert Irvine Foundation, an organization that supports military personnel and first responders.

Wood is very pleased with the public response to Homefront Cooking. In fact, plans are being considered for Homefront Cooking 2 which may focus on regional recipes. “I want readers to learn something, maybe a little piece of history they didn’t know, or find a favorite recipe or a story they find meaningful,” Woods says.  “I also hope the book will give readers a sense of pride in being an American and a feeling of love and respect for our veterans.”

For more information, go to traceyenersonwood.com, or the Homefront Cooking Facebook page at
HomeFront Cooking now available here:

No comments:

Post a Comment