Lerman also displays a consciousness for food presentation, etiquette, and class. The chapter titled “The Hampton Diet,” recounts one extreme effort her father made to lose weight ahead of a dinner party at his bosses’ beachside estate. Readers will cringe when they imagine the blended foods Al drank through a straw to cut down on his consumption ahead of the big event, as much as they will delight in Lerman’s descriptions of the fancy dishes and shining silverware on display at the dinner.