The Rye Bread Marriage

When they first meet, John— a dashing European, a Latvian refugee, a physics PhD—is hoping to settle down. Michaele, a fast-talking American college student, is hungry for an independent life as a writer and historian. Their chemistry is undeniable, but their timing is off, and they break up.

Fifteen years later, the two meet again and marry. Their love for each other does not assuage the trauma John experienced as a child during World War II; nor does it help Michaele understand her husband’s unwavering devotion to every aspect of Latvian culture, particularly his passion for the dark, dense rye bread of his birthplace (nothing like the rye she knew growing up in her secular Jewish household).  Not until Michaele travels to Eastern Europe does she begin to understand her husband, their marriage, and his love for Latvian rye bread.

How do the stories we live and the stories we inherit play out in our relationships? How do individuals learn to tolerate ethnic, religious, culinary and national differences? The Rye Bread Marriage is a beautifully told, often humorous, story about food and love and the messiness of spending a lifetime with another human being. Michaele Weissman reminds us that every relationship is a mystery—and a miracle. Buy your own copy and pair it with some bread from our online store.

“…Michaele Weissman has written a brilliant book celebrating her four-decade marriage to a Latvian refugee she did not fully understand until she understood his bread…” –Francis Lam, host of the James Beard award winning podcast, The Splendid Table. 

"The Rye Bread Marriage, by Michaele Weissman, a beautiful memoir melding the history of rye bread, the complexities of an immigrant marriage, and fabulous writing about food."–Joan Nathan, James Beard Award-winning author and memoirist.