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Susan Branch Books in Order

This page collects Susan Branch books in order, with summaries, Heart of the Home cookbooks, memoirs, keepsake journals and guidance on where to start reading.

Last updated: January 16, 2026

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45 books

Distilled Genius - A Collection of Life-Changing Quotations

by Susan Branch

2022

A hand lettered collection of quotations Susan Branch has gathered since her first cookbook. Arranged with her watercolors and little stories, the book brings together wise, hopeful and funny lines from many voices, offering a comforting place to browse for perspective and encouragement.

Home for Christmas

by Susan Branch

2020

An illustrated gift book that reads like a long letter about one childhood Christmas in the 1950s. Told from young Susan's point of view, it weaves a true family story of crowded rooms, small house magic and the kind of memories that outlast any present.

Recipe Keepsake Book - Favorite Family Recipes

by Susan Branch

2018

A spiral bound recipe keeper decorated with Susan Branch's watercolor art. Guided pages, tabbed sections and space for photos and notes help you organize favorite dishes and turn family recipes into a personalized heirloom cookbook.

Gratitude

by Susan Branch

2017

A small hand lettered gift book of quotations and watercolor art about thankfulness and everyday blessings. It invites you to pause, notice the good in ordinary days and share a little encouragement with someone you love.

Martha's Vineyard, Isle of Dreams

by Susan Branch

2016

Second in Susan Branch's illustrated memoirs, this volume begins when she leaves California for a tiny cottage on Martha's Vineyard in 1982. Through diary entries, watercolors and old photos she traces heartbreak, solitude and the slow work of building a new home, career and sense of self among island woods and seasons.

The Fairy Tale Girl

by Susan Branch

2015

Drawn from decades of diaries, this first memoir follows Susan Branch from a 1950s California childhood through the rebellions of the 1960s and early marriage in the 1970s. Her hand lettered pages mix music, fashion, love stories and hard lessons as she discovers art, cooking and the difference between fantasy and real happiness.

My Story

by Susan Branch

2014

A guided keepsake journal designed to capture your own life story. Prompted pages and photo spaces invite you to record childhood memories, family traditions, milestones and everyday moments so you can pass your history on to the next generation.

Home Cooking: Recipes From the Heart

by Susan Branch

2013

A sturdy recipe binder featuring Susan Branch's artwork, created to hold the dishes you cook most. Preformatted pages, tabbed dividers, splash guards and a matching notepad make it easy to collect, protect and reorganize recipes from your own kitchen.

A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside

by Susan Branch

2013

An illustrated travel diary of a sea crossing and long ramble through the English countryside with Susan and her partner Joe. Handwritten pages, sketches and photographs capture ocean days, tearooms, hedgerows, literary landmarks and the quiet, everyday romance of traveling together.

Tell Me Your Story Grandma Hydrangea

by Susan Branch

2012

This hydrangea covered edition of the Grandma Tell Me Your Story journal offers guided pages for recording a grandmother's memories. Prompts, photo spaces and Susan Branch inspired artwork help turn her stories into a keepsake the whole family can share.

Keepsake Journal - To My Daughter with Love

by Susan Branch

2012

A padded keepsake journal for mothers to fill out for their daughters. Guided questions, quotes and photo spaces cover baby days, school years, friends, family trips and grown up milestones, creating a story a daughter can read and keep for life.

Home Cooking Holiday Recipes Keepsake Collection

by Susan Branch

2012

A spiral recipe keeper for Christmas and other celebrations, illustrated in Susan Branch's festive style. Lined pages, pockets and dividers let you copy in treasured holiday dishes, add new favorites and keep menus and memories together in one place.

Grandma Tell Me Your Story

by Susan Branch

2012

A guided memory book made for grandmothers. Structured prompts, room for photos and Susan Branch's art help Grandma record family history, childhood stories, recipes and life lessons so children and grandchildren can return to her words for years to come.

Susan Branch to My Daughter with Love from My Kitchen Recipe Keeper

by Susan Branch

2011

A deluxe recipe binder meant to be filled and passed from mother to daughter. With Susan Branch's cheerful illustrations, tabbed sections and sturdy pages, it holds handwritten family recipes, notes and kitchen memories in one organized keepsake.

Mom, Tell Me Your Story Illustrated Guided Journal

by Susan Branch

2010

A guided journal that invites mothers to write the story of their lives. Illustrated pages and gentle prompts cover everything from childhood and first jobs to marriage, parenting and hopes for the future, creating a keepsake for children to cherish.

Homemade Recipes

by Susan Branch

2010

A tabbed recipe binder featuring art from the Heart of the Home books. It includes preformatted pages, pockets and kitchen tips so you can write in your own homemade recipes and keep clippings, notes and shopping lists close at hand.

Autumn from the Heart of the Home

by Susan Branch

2004

A handwritten, watercolor cookbook devoted to the pleasures of fall. Recipes for stews, roasted vegetables, pies and Thanksgiving and Halloween menus sit beside essays, quotes and decorating ideas that celebrate sweater weather, walks in the woods and cozy evenings at home.

Christmas Memories

by Susan Branch

2001

A five year guided Christmas journal with Susan Branch's holiday art. Each season you can record your tree, menu, gifts, parties, resolutions and little stories, watching family traditions grow across the pages as the years go by.

Wedding Blessings Keepsake Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A wedding guest and memory book in Susan Branch's hand lettered style. Guests can sign, share stories, blessings and advice, while photo spaces and prompts help the couple preserve the details of their day and the first year of marriage.

Tea Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A small, hand lettered tribute to tea time. With watercolor teacups, cozy quotes and thoughts on slowing down for a pot of tea, it makes a gentle invitation to pause and enjoy a quiet moment.

Spring Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A cheerful little book about the first days of spring. Hand painted flowers, birds and quotes sit beside short reflections on gardening, fresh starts and bringing a bit of new season color into your home.

Pretty Baby Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A sweet miniature book for new parents and grandparents. Susan Branch's art, quotations and small spaces for notes celebrate tiny hands, sleepy smiles and all the small moments that make life with a new baby feel magical.

Love Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A tiny keepsake book that follows love from first crushes to long married companionship. Branch pairs watercolor art and quotes with playful advice, romantic menus and little ideas for celebrating the people you care about.

Little Dinners

by Susan Branch

2000

A compact cookbook that gathers menus and recipes for intimate suppers with family or close friends. Susan Branch offers simple dishes, table ideas and timing tips so you can plan relaxed, memorable little dinners without fuss.

Hats Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A small, ribbon bound book of watercolor sketches, quotes and musings about hats and the occasions that go with them. It treats favorite hats as little pieces of personality and memory, from sunhats in summer to fancy tea party brims.

Happy Birthday Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

An illustrated birthday keepsake packed with celebratory quotes, tiny cakes and candles. Use it as a card that will be kept, or as a small gift to mark a milestone year with warmth and good wishes.

Girlfriends Forever

by Susan Branch

2000

A hand lettered celebration of women's friendships. Through stories, quotes, recipes and cheeky lists about clothes, chocolate, work, heartbreak and laughter, Susan Branch honors the girlfriends who see us through every season of life.

Girl Power Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A tiny handmade gift book celebrating the strength, humor and friendship of women. Filled with watercolor illustrations, quotations and short reflections, it is the kind of book you tuck into a card to cheer on a sister, daughter or friend.

Gardens Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A tiny book for gardeners, full of watercolor borders, seed packets and flower beds. Quotes and notes about planting, weeding, harvesting and simply sitting among growing things make it a soothing little companion for anyone who loves the yard or allotment.

Flowers Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A pocket sized bouquet of watercolor flowers and garden quotations. It offers small thoughts on planting, cutting and enjoying blooms indoors, perfect for anyone who cannot pass a flower stand without stopping.

Drinks Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A petite companion to her larger cookbooks, this little volume toasts the pleasures of lemonade, tea, cocoa and other favorite drinks. Watercolor illustrations, quotes and a few simple recipes make it a cozy kitchen sidekick.

Cocktails

by Susan Branch

2000

A compact cocktail book in Susan Branch's illustrated style. Classic and fun mixed drink recipes are paired with serving ideas, garnishes and quotes so you can set up a pretty home bar and toast any occasion.

Chocolate: It's Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

by Susan Branch

2000

A small square cookbook devoted to chocolate in all its moods. Illustrated recipes for cakes, puddings, sauces and little treats sit alongside playful quotes, making it a sweet pick for chocoholics and dessert lovers.

Celebrations Keepsake Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A guest and memory book for parties throughout the year. With lined pages, prompts and Susan Branch's festive art, it gives family and friends space to write messages, advice and recollections so birthdays, showers and holidays can be remembered later.

Birdies Little Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A pocket sized celebration of birds in Susan Branch's whimsical style. Lighthearted art and quotations about nests, feathers, song and the changing seasons make it a charming gift for bird lovers and backyard watchers.

Baby Blessings Keepsake Book

by Susan Branch

2000

A keepsake book for a baby's first year, designed for parents and visitors to write in. Pages for firsts, funny moments, wishes and photos, along with Branch's gentle art and quotes, turn daily milestones into a family heirloom.

Sweets to the Sweet

by Susan Branch

1998

A keepsake dessert book from the Heart of the Home world. Handwritten recipes for cakes, pies, crisps and other sweets, including a reader contest winner, are wrapped in watercolor art and make it easy to finish any meal with something special.

Days from the Heart of the Home

by Susan Branch

1996

A hard cover daybook that works as calendar, diary and scrapbook. Weekly pages decorated with art and quotes leave room to jot appointments, menus, weather and small memories so the story of each year can unfold one day at a time.

The Summer Book

by Susan Branch

1995

A warm weather companion to the Heart of the Home cookbooks. This summer themed volume offers recipes for picnics, barbecues and porch suppers, plus notes on kitchen gardens, farmers' markets, jam making and all the little rituals that make long days feel special.

Christmas Joy

by Susan Branch

1995

A small Christmas keepsake book filled with recipes, crafts and watercolor scenes of the season. It offers ideas for gifts, decorating and holiday treats, along with comforting quotes that are easy to pull out each year when you unpack the ornaments.

Love from the Heart of the Home

by Susan Branch

1994

A romantic keepsake book from the Heart of the Home series. Illustrated pages move from young love to long marriages, with menus for breakfast in bed, all chocolate dinners and cozy suppers, plus quotes, toasts and little ideas for celebrating love in everyday life.

Baby Love

by Susan Branch

1992

A beautifully illustrated baby book that lets new parents record pregnancy, birth and early milestones. Spaces for first words, tiny footprints, favorite songs and photos, along with pockets for mementos, create a tender record of a child's earliest years.

Christmas from the Heart of the Home

by Susan Branch

1990

A full size Christmas cookbook and entertaining guide. Traditional and not so traditional recipes for holiday breakfasts, dinners and parties are woven with ideas for decorating, handmade ornaments and cozy gatherings, all in Susan Branch's handwritten, watercolor style.

Vineyard Seasons

by Susan Branch

1988

A follow up to *Heart of the Home* that cooks its way through the seasons on Martha's Vineyard. From hearty soups and slow cooked suppers to light summer salads and tea time cakes, it combines recipes with glimpses of island life and year round traditions.

Heart of the Home

by Susan Branch

1986

Susan Branch's first cookbook, written and illustrated at her dining room table on Martha's Vineyard. Hand lettered pages share family recipes, dinner party menus, stories and advice on making a warm, welcoming kitchen at the center of home life.

Where should I start?

If you want her illustrated memoirs: The Fairy Tale Girl  Martha's Vineyard, Isle of Dreams  A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside
If you love cozy seasonal cookbooks: Heart of the Home  Vineyard Seasons  Autumn from the Heart of the Home  Christmas from the Heart of the Home
If you prefer friendship and inspiration: Girlfriends Forever  Gratitude  Distilled Genius - A Collection of Life-Changing Quotations
If you're choosing keepsake gifts: Baby Love  Baby Blessings Keepsake Book  Grandma Tell Me Your Story  Keepsake Journal - To My Daughter with Love

Author bio

Susan Branch was born in Long Beach, California, in 1947 and grew up in the sunny suburbs of the San Fernando Valley as the eldest of eight children. Her memories of big family dinners, neighborhood streets lined with orange trees, and a busy kitchen show up everywhere in her books.

As a young woman she kept detailed diaries, tucking ticket stubs and recipes between the pages and teaching herself to pay attention to small, ordinary joys. She did not start painting until she was around thirty, when a set of watercolors on the kitchen table turned those diary pages into pictures.

She began selling her artwork in Los Angeles, then in 1982 moved from California to a tiny house on the island of Martha's Vineyard. There, at her dining room table, she wrote and illustrated Heart of the Home, a handwritten cookbook filled with family recipes, stories and watercolor borders inspired by New England seasons.

That first book led to more from the same world, including Vineyard Seasons, Christmas from the Heart of the Home and The Summer Book. Each combined simple, comforting food with notes about traditions, gardens, holidays and the rituals that make a house feel like home. The pages look like they were made at the kitchen table because they were.

Her books are as much about how home feels as about what to cook.

Over time her watercolor borders and hand lettering moved beyond cookbooks. She created small keepsake volumes such as Love from the Heart of the Home, Baby Love and Christmas Joy, along with calendars, recipe binders and guided journals for mothers, grandmothers and daughters. Her long running newsletter, called Willard, began in the mid 1990s and still arrives in tens of thousands of inboxes, written in the same friendly voice as her books. Licensing has also carried her art onto teapots, fabrics, stationery and other things that live right in the middle of home life.

The diaries she kept from her twenties forward eventually turned into a three part illustrated memoir. The Fairy Tale Girl looks back at growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, early marriage and heartbreak, and the search for her own creative life. Martha's Vineyard, Isle of Dreams follows her move across the country, the little house in the woods and the slow building of a new home and career. A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside reads like a travel journal, tracing an ocean crossing, narrow English lanes, gardens and tearooms, and the steady companionship of her partner Joe. Those books found a wide audience and put her on the New York Times bestseller list, yet they keep the intimate, handwritten feeling of a private journal.

Readers often say they feel as if she is writing directly to them. Part of that comes from the way she mixes recipes, quotations, lists, childhood photos and small practical tips about everything from setting the table to saving seeds from a tomato. Part of it is her willingness to share the hard parts alongside the pretty ones, including loneliness, divorce and the work of starting over.

For many years she lived in an old captain's house on Martha's Vineyard, looking out at her picket fence garden while she painted at a big worktable. More recently she and Joe have settled in Arroyo Grande on the Central Coast of California, in a smaller house they had long planned for. When she is not at the drawing board she tends her garden, walks nearby beaches and old neighborhoods, and collects the little details that later turn up in a border or a story. She still paints by hand, still keeps a diary nearby, and still invites readers into a world where everyday life, well noticed, is more than enough story.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 45 Susan Branch Books in Order (Complete List 2026)