Four-time Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Shalhoub and his daughter, writer, and producer Josie Adams join Zibby Owens to discuss their moving new collaborative book, We Thought They’d Never Leave: Musings on Food and Family. Josie shares how a culinary school education first sparked her dream of building a permanent repository for their ancestral dishes before it was too late. She explains how the project grew across months of collaborative writing from a standard 100-recipe manual into a rich culinary narrative, acting as a testament to the chaotic beauty of their massive multi-generational summer reunions and a family's unique ability to stay bound together despite disparate worldviews, political friction, and geographic distance.
Tony and Josie look back on more than fifty years of annual lakeside traditions in Wisconsin, revealing the intricate, non-catered logistics required to manage an army of relatives and the strict, unwritten kitchen rule that acts of service always supersede personal comfort. Tony opens up about his late parents and how his mother’s unexpected passing when he was 29 years old forced an absolute halt mid-rehearsal on stage, shifting something profound within his concept of adult maturity and theatrical healing. Ultimately, they reflect on testing family favorites like Aunt Maggie's legendary carrot cake and warm Lebanese stuffed grape leaves, sharing why this archive stands as an enduring, love-filled blueprint for the next generation to always keep showing up for one another.
Learn more about Tony’s work here along with Josie’s here. Follow Josie on Instagram @josielynneadams. You can purchase We Thought They’d Never Leave: Musings on Food and Family here.
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