Everyone has trouble. This is why the memoirs of a food critic for the New York Times are of interest to the rest of us. If she'd gotten there through connections and the Cordon Bleu, it might have been a dull tale. But she didn't always know from Cordon Bleu. Even more universal appeal.
Memoirs are a sticky business.
Reichl admits at the top of this one that some things are not entirely factual. But her demurral is almost not necessary. We assume the gist of her memoir is true, just as we've found her reviews to be very trustworthy. Though meant to be inspirational, they are full of questionable details. Or something like that.