Rottenkid

A memoir sauteed in Hollywood stories, world travel, and always, the need to belong

Prolific cookbook author Brigit Binns’ coming-of-age memoir—co-starring her alcoholic actor father Edward Binns and glamorous but viciously smart narcissistic mother—reveals how simultaneous privilege and profound neglect lead Brigit to seek comfort in the kitchen, eventually allowing her to find some sense of self-worth. 

In the old Hollywood of her childhood, Brigit seems to live in an elite world. But when her parents eventually divorce—her father flees and her mother sends her off to boarding school so she can more easily conduct her decades-long romance with a married California governor—Brigit racks up seven schools and a host of bad decisions before the age of 16. 

Marriage to an Englishman takes her across the pond and to professional cooking school. But when that life comes crashing down, she returns heartbroken and alone to Los Angeles eighteen years after vowing never to return. Here she thrives, cold pitching herself to top chefs as co author for their cookbooks. Peppered with humor and seasoned with optimism, Brigit’s story is an entertaining tribute to female resilience.