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Accidentally on Purpose

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What to expect

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER | TIME's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 | New York Post's 30 Best Books for Spring | Amazon's Best Books of the Month | BookRiot's Best Books of April | Queerty's Spring 2025 LGBTQ+ Books | Town & Country's Must-Read Books of Spring 2025 | Winner of AudioFile’s Earphones Award

From chef and Emmy-nominated host of Top Chef comes a tender, clear-eyed memoir, read by the author, charting a journey full of purpose, belonging, and real love—a “recipe for a life worth living” (Stacy London).

Kristen Kish never could have imagined people on the street knowing her name—not when she was a carefree softball-tossing kid, in high school working at a pretzel stand, and not even when she finally found her true calling as a chef. In those early days, becoming a chef meant tethering oneself to a restaurant and working in the back of a kitchen, not a television set. But working in the spotlight happened naturally, even if the attention was totally unanticipated.  And like most things in Kristen’s life, the road was so much more winding and complicated than it may have appeared from the outside.
 
From growing up as an adoptee in the Midwest, to trying to fit in with all the other girls who were busy dating boys, to coming out and finding love when she least expected it, Kristen learned that, unlike a map, no set of plans or definitions can dictate or explain a life. In fact, accidents happen. Curveballs will come. And even the full-circle moments—like winning Top Chef to becoming its Emmy-nominated host years later—could have guaranteed these opportunities.
 
In Accidentally on Purpose, what defines Kristen’s story aren’t the missteps or even the pleasant surprises that crop up but how she learned to find her voice and use it. Because while accidents may be unexpected, they don’t have to be at odds with purpose. And as Kristen approaches life’s milestones, big and small, with intention, she realizes at those junctures—the ones beyond the borders of the map, behind-the-scenes, and off camera—are where the decisions and discoveries are made. Where the unexpected meets the intentional. And that’s where things get really interesting.

Critics Review

“I have always known Kristen Kish to be a person of deep emotional strength, intention, and focus. Over the last few years especially, I have come to understand more clearly what drives her. It’s never been about the end result, the lip service or the prospect of quick success. It has always been about the people she loves and what she can learn from her many unexpected adventures. Accidentally on Purpose shares her thrilling, at times heart-wrenching, and wildly serendipitous story, in her own words, for the very first time. Her unprecedented journey—from adoptee in small-town Michigan to household name and culinary icon—will move, humble, and entangle you in her warm, wide-open embrace.”—Gail Simmons, TV Host, Food Expert, and Author of Bringing It Home
"With her humble heart and calm intelligence, Kristen Kish discusses her life and career with candor and wonder, expresses her early sense of fear and shame, and relates points in time that reflect expectation, disappointment, and revelation. Like any great artist, she writes her story so we can know ours a bit better. Accidentally on Purpose is a recollection of what it means to become yourself, believe in your light, and allow life to help you chart your course rather than derail you. Kristen hasn't written a How-To guide. She's written a recipe for a life worth living: with purpose, curiosity, forgiveness, luck, and of course—what every recipe relies on—love."—Stacy London, TV host, designer, stylist, and author
“Kristen has one of those larger-than-life stories to tell, from her childhood to her journey as a rising chef to being known by every single food person in America. It would be a fairytale if it wasn’t all true!”—José Andrés, Chef and Bestselling Author
“Kristen Kish takes us on a journey filled with honesty and raw emotion. From a teenager feeling like an outsider to an empowered groundbreaker. Kristen leaves no crumbs! The world is a better place when people like Kristen stand in their truth a reminder everyone has a story.”—Tamron Hall, Emmy-award winning TV host, journalist and bestselling author
"Accidentally on Purpose is a candid journey of life and lessons learned. Kristen Kish brings the reader to the 'table' with stories that are inspiring, raw, and real. I never wanted to finish it."—Camila McConaughey, New York Times bestselling author of Just Try One Bite and founder of Women of Today
“In this powerful and touching memoir, Kristen Kish shares how finding herself as a chef paved the way for finding herself as the authentic, hilarious, and brilliant human we’ve all come to love on Top Chef. Kristen’s personal and singular story reveals universal truths we’ve all faced one way or another in our struggles to become our true selves. Accidentally on Purpose shows it’s the journey that matters most and makes us who we are.”—Tom Colicchio, Chef & Owner - Crafted Hospitality
"Finding her own voice and staying true to her values are at the heart of Kish’s engaging memoir...Some of her memoir's strongest moments detail the author's Top Chef triumph, her pain as a closeted gay woman in young adulthood, and her eventual coming out and living a full, authentic life."—Booklist
Author Kristen Kish
Narrator Kristen Kish
Duration 10 hours and 28 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781668648001
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hachette Audio
Genre Biography: general, Ethnic studies, LGBTQ+ / Gay and Lesbian Studies, TV / celebrity chef cookbooks
Availability US

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