Ina Garten Reveals the Title of Upcoming Memoir—Here’s What You Need to Know (Including When It Comes Out)

Good news, or best news ever? Ina Garten is writing a memoir (and she finally shared the title, along with when it’s being released).

You might recall that the 76-year-old culinary queen, prolific cookbook author and Barefoot Contessa announced in 2019—yes, four years ago—that a memoir of her life was in the works. Naturally, I made plans to preorder it while patiently waiting for more info. Few details about the book were released, other than that it would be published by Celadon Books sometime in, ahem, 2023.

I’ve been thinking about this news ever since, and it didn’t slip by my radar that 2023 came and went without so much as an excerpt of the mysterious memoir. But I’ll forgive Ina for anything, especially since she sneakily updated her Instagram bio to reveal the publish date. And finally, there’s a title and cover, too: Be Ready When the Luck Happens will be released on October 1, 2024.

In an Instagram post, Garten gave the update: “I am thrilled to tell you that my memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, will be out on October 1st! Writing this book was a completely new experience for me. There is no recipe for writing a memoir, and the process helped me see that what happened to me in my 20s and 30s prepared me for what was to come. I’m so looking forward to sharing my story with you!”

And to add to the excitement, Garten revealed that she’ll also be going on tour to celebrate and promote the memoir. “You can join me in eight cities this fall: Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Dallas, Costa Mesa, Boston, Chicago and Hartford,” she added in her update.

Garten’s fanbase has been following her since she first uttered the words, “How easy is that?” on the Food Network in 2002, but the most devoted Gartenites (hello!) know that she wasn’t always a kitchen icon. Garten actually started her career as a budget analyst in the White House for the Carter administration—before realizing politics weren’t her calling, buying a specialty foods store in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and eventually writing her first of 13 cookbooks in 1999. And like Jeffrey’s favorite roast chicken, the rest is history.

Back in 2019, Garten said of the memoir, “By finding a way to do what I love for a living—cooking—I’ve been fortunate to build a career that has not only been incredibly rewarding but has brought people together through the power of home cooking. I hope my book will inspire readers to find their own unique story.” I mean…love that.

My only question now: The Contessa typically publishes a new cookbook every two years, and the last one, Go-To Dinners, was released in the fall of 2022. Will this replace a new collection of recipes? Or will we all be lucky enough to get double the Ina come October?

Either way, you can pre-order Be Ready When the Luck Happens now. (You bet your butt I already did.)