Food Network star Amy Finley shares “How to Eat A Small Country” at Carlsbad’s Georgina Cole Library on July 20 at 11 a.m.

A professionally trained cook turned stay-at-home mom, Amy Finley decided on a whim to send in an audition tape for The Next Food Network Star, and the impossible happened: she won her own cooking show on national television. So why did she walk away from it all?

On Saturday, July 20 at 11 a.m., Finley will discuss and sign her book How to Eat A Small Country: A Family’s Pursuit of Happiness, One Meal at a Time at Georgina Cole Library. Finley’s book is a triumphant tale of family, food, France and forgiveness. You can read an excerpt here.

"How to Eat a Small Country shares a few key traits with Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love in particular an infectiously likeable narrator and mouthwatering descriptions of European food. But Finley’s memoir is less precious, more honest, and ultimately more rewarding,” said  Boston Globe.

Chef, author and television host Anthony Bourdain praised How to Eat A Small Country as “An unexpected and delightful memoir … her tale of moving to rural France to preserve her marriage and family is a great read filled with joyous bites.”

Enjoy refreshments from Carlsbad’s French Bakery while you meet Finley, a Paris-trained cook and pastry chef who went on to host Food Network’s The Gourmet Next Door. She was also a regular contributor to Bon Appétit and currently lives in San Diego with her family.

The event will take place at Georgina Cole Library, located at 1250 Carlsbad Village Drive. Mysterious Galaxy bookstore will provide books for sale. For more information, call 760-602-2012.