From Mystery to Memoir @LeslieKarst

LUCY BURDETTE: I love our guest Leslie Karst's culinary mysteries starring Sally Solari. But she's branched out into something almost entirely different with her newest book--I'll let her tell the story!

LESLIE KARST: As soon as the big event was over, I wrote down all I could remember of how I finagled my way into hosting an intimate dinner party for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her celebrated tax professor/attorney husband, Martin, as well as all the planning and preparation—and angsting and obsessing—that went along with the experience. But then there it sat on my computer for many years as I was sidetracked, first by my work as a research and appellate attorney, later by writing and promoting my Sally Solari mystery series.

Leslie and Ruth, the night of the dinner

Finally, after much egging on by my wife, Robin, and other people who knew of the document’s existence, I decided that the extraordinary story needed to be out there, for others to read. But once I opened the file and began to read what I’d written all those years earlier, I saw that I had a problem: the manuscript wasn’t ready for publication. Not by a long shot. For although I’d set down the facts—all that had happened to me along the way to finally sitting down with Ruth, Marty, Robin, and my mom and dad on that memorable evening—I’d failed to include much anything about how the experience had affected me personally. 

The issue, I realized, was that this story was a memoir, something I’d never attempted before. 

But I do have five mystery novels under my belt, I said to myself. And memoirs are similar to novels, right? Both tell a story, have a narrative arc, and tend to contain the same elements of dialogue, discrete scenes, dramatic highs and lows, and a payoff at the end. 

So what would be the big deal, switching from one to the other?

As I set out to revise Justice is Served, however, the process felt far different from writing my Sally Solari series. For this story was about me; I had to be honest about myself in a way not required of fiction. No easy feat. Although my mysteries are written in the first person (and many are convinced that Sally is, in fact, simply my far braver and riskier alter-ego), I’d never before had to delve deep within myself and then share those innermost thoughts on paper—for the world to read. 

But, of course, it is this very personal nature of memoirs that sets them apart from other writing—and what makes them so very compelling. Stories of love, loss, and lessons learned. Stories that allow the reader to peek into the one’s soul, to experience the author’s journey towards awakening, or redemption, or simply the discovery that she’s exactly where she wants to be, after all. 

the table is set for the big event

In order for my memoir to truly resonate with others, I had to be completely honest and open about my personal journey and about how the experience of cooking for RBG had affected me—as a lawyer, as a romantic partner, as a daughter, as a person. 

So I set to work. And it was only after this emotionally arduous re-write that the book came truly alive, transformed from merely the story of a fancy dinner into one of simultaneously searching for delicious recipes as well as purpose in life—and a reminder that it’s never too late to discover and follow your deepest passion. 

Readers—For a chance to win a signed advance reader copy of Justice is Served, answer this question in the comments: Are you a fan of memoirs? If so, what is it you enjoy about them?

About Justice is Served:

In this true-life Julie and Julia meets Notorious RBG mash-up, former attorney Leslie Karst recounts how finagling her way into hosting an intimate dinner party for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sends her on a journey of culinary discovery—and, ultimately, completely changes her life. 

Justice is Served is Karst’s light-hearted, earnest account of the journey this unexpected challenge launched her on—starting with a trip to Paris for culinary inspiration, and ending with the dinner itself. Along the way, she imparts details of Ginsburg’s transformation from a young Jewish girl from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to one of the most celebrated Supreme Court justices in our nation’s history, and shares recipes for the mouthwatering dishes she came up with as she prepared for the big night. 

The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst waited tables and sang in a new wave rock band before deciding she was ready for “real” job and ending up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as a research and appellate attorney that she rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking, and she once more returned to school—this time to earn a degree in culinary arts. Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her time cooking, cycling, gardening, observing cocktail hour promptly at five o’clock, and of course writing. 

In addition to Justice is Served, she is also the author of the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari Mysteries, a “snarky cozy” series set in Santa Cruz, California. Leslie and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz, California and Hilo, Hawai‘i. 

Visit Leslie’s website to learn more about and purchase the book.