Book Review: Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher

This book review is by Megan Hartwig. 

Burnt Toast and other Philosophies of Life’ by Teri Hatcher is my recent read. You all know Teri Hatcher. Don’t you? Okay, let‘s say ‘Desperate Housewives’…ahh the bulb clicked. Right then..Teri Hatcher is a celebrity, beautiful, successful and rich and she’s also a human being, a mother and a woman.

“Toast. Think about it for a moment. It probably has the simplest recipe in the world: one ingredient, one instruction. Still, you know when you’re trying to make it and you just can’t get it right? It’s too light or too soft, then… totally burnt. Charred in a matter of seconds — now it’s more like a brick than a piece of toast. So what do you do? Are you the kind of person who tries to scrape off the black? Or do you smother it with jam to hide the taste? Do you throw it away, or do you just eat it? If you shrug and eat the toast, is it because you’re willing to settle for less? Maybe you don’t want to be wasteful, but if you go ahead and eat that blackened square of bread, then what you’re really saying — to yourself and to the world — is that the piece of bread is worth more than your own satisfaction”. – Excerpt from the book.

She explores these feelings in “Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life,” in which she speaks frankly about her life, career, child and relationships. It is a fast and easy read and the book shows a lot of times that there are in fact a lot of similarities between Teri and her ‘Desperate Housewives’ character “Susan”.

“Up ’til now, I ate the burnt toast. I learned that from my mother — metaphorically if not literally. I can’t actually remember if she even likes toast or how she eats it. But what I know for sure is that although she was a loving and devoted wife and mother, she always took care of everyone and everything else before herself. This habitual self-sacrifice was well intended, but ultimately it’s a mixed message for a child. It taught me that in order for me to succeed, someone else had to suffer. I learned to accept whatever was in front of me without complaint because I didn’t think I deserved good things.”- Excerpt from the book.

In fact, the title of her new book, “Burnt Toast,” I feel, is a metaphor for women who too often take the leftovers for themselves — something Hatcher says she is trying not to do as much, but still does.

It is light and true to heart. I enjoyed it and so will you.

You can find Megan, the reviewer of this book, on 

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You can get the book on Amazon here.