Listen free for 30 days

  • The Measure of My Powers

  • A Memoir of Food, Misery, and Paris
  • Written by: Jackie Kai Ellis
  • Narrated by: Jackie Kai Ellis
  • Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (38 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Measure of My Powers cover art

The Measure of My Powers

Written by: Jackie Kai Ellis
Narrated by: Jackie Kai Ellis
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $35.00

Buy Now for $35.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Instant national best seller and shortlisted for the 2019 Taste Canada Awards and the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.

For fans of Eat Pray Love, Wild, and H is for Hawk, The Measure of My Powers is the story of one woman's search for self-love, experienced through food and travel.

"With searing vulnerability and unflinching honesty, Jackie Kai Ellis takes us on an intense and immersive journey from her darkest moments to the redemption she finds through her love of food, Paris, and ultimately, herself." (Jen Waite, best-selling author of A Beautiful, Terrible Thing)

On the surface, Jackie Kai Ellis' life was the one that she and every woman wanted. She was in her late 20s and married to a handsome man, she had a successful career as a designer, and she had a beautiful home. But instead of feeling fulfilled, happy, and loved, each morning she'd wake up dreading the day ahead, searching for a way out. Depression clouded every moment, the feelings of inadequacy that had begun in childhood now consumed her, and her marriage was slowly transforming into one between strangers - unfamiliar, childless, and empty. In the darkness, she could only find one source of light: the kitchen. It was the place where Jackie escaped, finding peace, comfort, and acceptance.

This is the story of one woman's journey to find herself. Armed with nothing but a love of food and the words of the 20th-century food writer M.F.K. Fisher, she travels from France to Italy, then the Congo, and back again. Along the way, she goes to pastry school in Paris, eats the most perfect apricots over the Tuscan hills, watches a family of gorillas grazing deep in the Congolese brush, has her heart broken one last time on a bridge in Lyon, and, ultimately, finds a path to life and joy.

Told with insight and intimacy, and radiating with warmth and humor, The Measure of My Powers is an inspiring memoir, and an unforgettable experience of the senses.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2018 Jackie Kai Ellis (P)2018 Appetite by Random House

What the critics say

"Open, raw and honest.... Tender and authentic tales of a woman coming into her own." (The Globe and Mail)

"With searing vulnerability and unflinching honesty, Jackie Kai Ellis takes us on an intense and immersive journey from her darkest moments to the redemption she finds through her love of food, Paris, and, ultimately, herself." (Jen Waite, internationally best-selling author of A Beautiful, Terrible Thing

"This inspiring memoir digs deep into one woman's struggles to overcome her depression. A writer, baker, woman of the world - Jackie Kai Ellis stars in all these roles." (Lucy Waverman, award-winning author of The Flavour Principle

What listeners say about The Measure of My Powers

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring!

Having Jackie read her own book was truly amazing. You can feel her happiness and sadness as she recalls her memories from her best and worst moments. Being someone who is slightly lost and burnt out from my own work, I understand I'm not alone and listening to her own stories inspires me to keep moving on. Truly amazing! #audible1

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Kay
  • 2018-03-14

Astonishing

Astonishing. Plain and simple. I am so moved and inspired that I'm going to go buy the hardcopy and read it again!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!