SKU: 39946922616

Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic Depression

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Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic DepressionA FINALIST FOR THE NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD FOR NON FICTION A PASTE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIMEOUT NEW YORK'S BEST SUMMER BEACH READS OF 2017 ONE OF REAL SIMPLE'S 25 FATHER'S DAY BOOKS THAT COVER ALL OF DAD'S INTERESTS The stunning and long awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award winning website Leite's Culinaria a candid, courageous, and at times laugh out loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual

A FINALIST FOR THE NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD FOR NON FICTION

A PASTE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

ONE OF TIMEOUT NEW YORK'S BEST SUMMER BEACH READS OF 2017

ONE OF REAL SIMPLE'S 25 FATHER'S DAY BOOKS THAT COVER ALL OF DAD'S INTERESTS

The stunning and long-awaited memoir from the beloved founder of the James Beard Award-winning website Leite's Culinaria--a candid, courageous, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story of family, food, mental illness, and sexual identity.

Born into a family of Azorean immigrants, David Leite grew up in the 1960s in a devoutly Catholic, blue-collar, food-crazed Portuguese home in Fall River, Massachusetts. A clever and determined dreamer with a vivid imagination and a flair for the dramatic, "Banana" as his mother endearingly called him, yearned to live in a middle-class house with a swinging kitchen door just like the ones on television, and fell in love with everything French, thanks to his Portuguese and French-Canadian godmother. But David also struggled with the emotional devastation of manic depression. Until he was diagnosed in his mid-thirties, David found relief from his wild mood swings in learning about food, watching Julia Child, and cooking for others.

Notes on a Banana is his heartfelt, unflinchingly honest, yet tender memoir of growing up, accepting himself, and turning his love of food into an award-winning career. Reminiscing about the people and events that shaped him, David looks back at the highs and lows of his life: from his rejection of being gay and his attempt to "turn straight" through Aesthetic Realism, a cult in downtown Manhattan, to becoming a writer, cookbook author, and web publisher, to his twenty-four-year relationship with Alan, known to millions of David's readers as "The One," which began with (what else?) food. Throughout the journey, David returns to his stoves and tables, and those of his family, as a way of grounding himself.

A blend of Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, the food memoirs by Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Gabrielle Hamilton, and the character-rich storytelling of Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, Notes on a Banana is a feast that dazzles, delights, and, ultimately, heals.

--No Real Simple, 25 Father's Day Books That Cover All of Dad's Interests Real Simple, 25 Father's Day Books That Cover All of Dad's Interests

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Published: 01/16/2018
ISBN: 9780062414380
Pages: 384
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 1.10d
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SKU: 39946922616

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4.6 ★★★★★
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Verified Purchase
Brittany McBride
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 4
Mounting process could have been easier but still a beautiful cabinet
Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet, Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet
Beautiful cabinet seems to be good quality I just keep admiring something so beautiful about the white. The extra hardware is thoughtful. With some master skills I was able to get it mounted perfect. It was not a breeze but nonetheless I always find a way. I found the best way to mount this was to hold it against the wall and follow the pre-drilled holes at the bottom to drill the holes into the wall that wasnt that hard But for the top anchor/screws, the cabinet did not have pre-drilled holes and I was not about to guess !! So I used alien tape to tape the top wood bar to the unit as shown in pic then took the cabinet lined up the bottom holes while holding the cabinet up then I drilled holes through the unit with a small bit just to get the whole going then took it back down then followed the same holes with a bigger bit and it worked for me. It hung level. It was crazy that the pre-holes were not 16” apart when they could have been. I added extra screws to be able to mount them to a stud I didn’t feel comfortable with it not being mounted to a stud. The screws I had were too long gonna have to get some shorter screws. But it’s up & looks so nice DO NOT USE 11/32 bit. Don’t even use 5/16. I use 1/4 and kinda ran the drill in a circle to widen the whole and it was the perfect tight fit All in all I do love the cabinet. Just feel the mounting process could have been instructed more conveniently
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2026
K
Verified Purchase
Kissezamour
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
Love it !!!!
Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet, Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet
I absolutely love this cabinet. It’s super well-made easy to put together and the space is great. I’ve already received some compliments. Thought it would guests. Come to my home. Just look at how nice it pairs with my bathroom. The handles are sturdy. There’s also a nice tag inside with the company’s name. If you’re looking for a bathroom cabinet, highly recommended this one is well worth it. Love it!!!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2026
J
Verified Purchase
J. S. Kline
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent Cabinet for someone good at mounting a cabinet
Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet
The cabinet arrived very well packaged with an instruction booklet, hardware, and an Allen wrench. The booklet says you will just need a Phillips screwdriver, but you will also need a drill with an appropriate bit (more on the bit later) to mount the cabinet on the wall. Assembling the cabinet was simplified by how well the cabinet pieces and hardware were labeled and referenced in the instruction booklet. The holes in all the cabinet parts lined up nicely. The doors swing on spring loaded pivots. They are not adjustable, but work well and are probably much less expensive than European style hinges. I was concerned that the doors would not line up, but they look fine. The Magnetic Latch also works well, but the little piece of wood that it mounts on fell off during assembly so I glued it back in place. This was the only problem I had assembling the cabinet. I let the glue dry overnight and mounted the cabinet the next day. The wood support plate they ship with the cabinet is a great way to hang a cabinet, however I did have some problems using the supplied anchors. I recommend having some other anchors and screws available in case you have similar issues. Skip this paragraph if you do not care about the details: I mounted the cabinet on drywall. The instructions said to drill 11/32” holes for the supplied plastic wall anchors. I did not have an 11/32” bit so I used a 5/16” bit. Even though my holes were 1/32” smaller than specified, the anchors slid into the drywall very easily without having to tap them. I recommend using a 5/16” bit or even a 9/32” bit instead of the 11/32” they specify. Next I mounted the support plate with the supplied screws, but I could not get the screws tight enough to hold the plate securely in place. It felt like the screws were too small in diameter so I used some slightly larger screws. That worked fine for one of the screws holding the plate and the two lower screws, but the second screw through the plate would not bite and hold the plate firmly. Fortunately I had one HILTI 3/16” hollow wall metal anchor left over from a previous project and was able to get the plate very solidly attached to the wall. My wife is very pleased with the cabinet. I did have some trouble with the latch and the install so I was tempted to knock off a star, but I think this is a 5-Star item considering the low cost and how well the the cabinet parts aligned with each other.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2025
M
Verified Purchase
Monica G.
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Love and amazing for the price!
Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet, Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet
Perfect! I'm a renter and didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on something that might not work in the next place so this looked like it would be a good fit. I really wasn't expecting much for the price point but I was VERY pleasantly surprised. It's a great piece. I love assembling things (I'm an Ikea pro) but this had literally the easiest and most explicit instructions I have ever seen. Every piece is clearly labeled. The hardware comes in a bubble pack, again clearly labeled. Rhe instructions are very clear. Another thing I appreciated was the mounting mechanism which is a French cleat. It is much easier to level and screw in a cleat than to recruit help and try to hold a cabinet in place and try screwing it in. I'm a fat middle age woman and I had no problem mounting it by myself. Notice there are no screws visible on the outside. That was a huge selling point for me. Only con is that for the quality of everything else, the shelves are on the thin side, placing anything substantial would definitely make them bow. Background is a scrap of peel-and-stick.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2026
K
Verified Purchase
Ken
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Good cabinet choice
Color: White, Style: Wall Cabinet
I needed a wall cabinet for a recessed area above the toilet. This one fits the area perfectly and provides a good amount of storage in an otherwise wasted space. It looks good as it coordinates well with my white shaker style cabinets elsewhere in the room. It was easy to assemble, doors lined up perfectly, and mounting was a breeze with the included screws and hardware. It doesn't get hard use in this location, but seems sturdy after almost a year.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2025

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