From an early age, Elizabeth Heiskell, beloved Southern food personality and NBC’s TODAY show contributor, had an uncanny gift for finding joy in the smallest moments—her daddy watching his crops grow, her Mama cooking in the kitchen, her brothers tormenting her with frogs in her hair. These were never huge, sweeping moments, but the little things that stood out most. Joy was always around her.

In her debut memoir, Joy Ride, Elizabeth takes readers on an honest, heartfelt journey through the highs and lows of her life, from losing her brother as a schoolgirl to her more recent breast cancer diagnosis, proving that even in the hardest seasons, joy is always within reach. For Elizabeth, food and the table are where that joy lives. Within each chapter, Elizabeth shares the recipes that help shape her memories, from Mama’s Bread and Butter Pickles to Lucy’s Hot Cakes.

Equal parts memoir and love letter to Southern food and life, Joy Ride is a reminder that joy isn’t something that happens to us; it’s something we choose to chase, one meal, one memory, one moment at a time.