NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Food writer Julie Powell, who became an internet darling after blogging for a year about making every recipe in Julia Child鈥檚 鈥淢astering the Art of French Cooking,鈥� leading to a book deal and a film adaptation, has died. She was 49.
Powell died of cardiac arrest Oct. 26 at her home in upstate New York, The New York Times reported. Her death was confirmed by Judy Clain, Powell's email and editor in chief of Little, Brown.
鈥淪he was a brilliant writer and a daring, original person and she will not be forgotten,鈥� Clain said in a statement. 鈥漌e are sending our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Julie, whether personally or through the deep connections she forged with readers of her memoirs."
Powell's 2005 book 鈥淛ulie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen鈥� became the hit, Nora Ephron-directed film 鈥淛ulie & Julia,鈥� with the author portrayed in the movie by Amy Adams and Meryl Streep as Child.
Her sophomore and last effort 鈥� titled 鈥淐leaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession鈥� 鈥� was a bit jarring in its honesty. Powell revealed she had an affair, the pain of loving two men at once, of her fondness for sadomasochism and even a bout of self-punishing sex with a stranger.
鈥淧eople coming from the movie 鈥楯ulie & Julia鈥� and picking up 鈥楥leaving鈥� are going to be in for some emotional whiplash,鈥� she told The Associated Press in 2009. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 going to be a Nora Ephron movie.鈥�
Powell began her affair in 2004 as she was putting the finishing touches on her first book, a time she writes when she was 鈥渟tarry-eyed and vaguely discontented and had too much time on my hands.鈥�
By 2006, she had landed an apprenticeship at a butcher shop two hours north of New York City, which offered an escape from her crumbling marriage and a place to explore her childhood curiosity with butchers.
鈥淭he way they held a knife in their hand was like an extension of themselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a very clumsy person. I don鈥檛 play sports. That kind of physical skill is really foreign to me, and I鈥檓 really envious of that.鈥�
The book explores the link between butchering and her own tortured romantic life. At one point, while cutting the connective tissue on a pig鈥檚 leg, she writes: 鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, but a relief as well, to know that two things so closely bound together can separate with so little violence, leaving smooth surfaces instead of bloody shreds.鈥�
Her book tapped into the growing interest in old school butchery and her experience slicing meat actually resulted in her eating less of it. She was an advocate for humanely raised and slaughtered animals.
鈥淧eople want to get their hands dirty. People want to participate in the process. People want to know where their food is coming from,鈥� Powell said. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 want the mystery anymore.鈥�
She is survived by her husband, Eric.
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
