From award-winning food writer Bee Wilson, The Heart-Shaped Tin offers a strikingly original examination of how everyday objects acquire deeply personal and often emotional meanings in our lives. This book blends Wilson's personal experiences with touching narratives from others who project strong feelings onto kitchenware, exploring themes of love, loss, memory, and identity through the lens of tangible possessions.

The narrative is sparked by a moment of personal upheaval—the breaking of a wedding cake tin following a marriage ending—which prompts Wilson to investigate the human tendency to attach profound significance to mundane items, from salt shakers to inherited dinner services.

• The emotional weight attached to kitchen objects following significant life events like grief or separation.
• Exploration of dementia and memory through the lens of deciding which inherited utensils to keep or discard.
• Cross-cultural and historical investigation into why humans keep mementos, including stories of survival and resistance symbolized by objects like a spoon made in a concentration camp.
• Analysis of hoarding, the meaning of gifts, and the fundamental human urge to preserve symbols of identity.

This work has received significant recognition, including winning the André Simon Food Book Award and being shortlisted for the Fortnum & Mason Food Book Award.

• Author: Bee Wilson
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Publication Date: May 7, 2026
• ISBN-10: 0008685665
• ISBN-13: 978-0008685669
• Dimensions: 129 x 28 x 198mm
• Weight: 280 g

The Heart-Shaped Tin is a thoughtful, tender, and beautifully written examination of the legacy of things we keep and the stories they hold, resonating deeply with readers interested in sociology, anthropology, and the emotional landscape of material culture.