“This book was eight decades in the making. (I had to wait till most of the characters were dead). Unleashing my demons was freeing,” the 80-year-old O'Connell said in a statement released Tuesday by Celadon Books, which will publish his memoir Sept. 15.
“Finally, the jagged pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of my life have been assembled into a haunting portrayal worthy of a southern, gothic novel — proving that fiction can rarely compete with reality.”
O’Connell, a Washington, D.C. native, opened the restaurant in 1978. He has received numerous honors, including a lifetime achievement award from the James Beard Foundation and a National Humanities Medal, for raising “the culinary arts to new heights of excellence by embracing regional flavors and championing local farmers.”