Description

‘An optimistic and wryly funny book… rich with insights’ OBSERVER
‘I couldn’t put it down’ RUKMINI IYER
‘I loved this book so much… Think: The Body Keeps the Score in practice not theory’ ELLA RISBRIDGER

Samantha’s mother tongue is dying out. An urgent need to find out more becomes an expansive investigation into how to keep hold of her culture – and when to let it go

The daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid, hot sounds of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. A language that’s now on the verge of extinction.

The realisation that she won’t be able to tell her son he’s ‘living in the days of the aubergines’ or ‘chopping onions on my heart’ opens the floodgates. The questions keep coming. How can she pass on the stories without passing on the trauma of displacement? Will her son ever love mango pickle?

In her search for answers Samantha encounters demon bowls, the perils of kohl and the unexpected joys of fusion food. Her journey transports us from the clamour of Noah’s Ark to the calm of the British Museum, from the Oxford School of Rare Jewish Languages to the banks of the River Tigris. As Samantha considers what we lose and keep, she also asks what we might need to let go of to preserve our culture and ourselves.

This is a life-affirming memoir about resilience and repair, and the healing power of dancing to our ancestors’ music, cooking up their recipes and sharing their stories.

‘A moving and resonant lament for the past but also a thought-provoking siren call for the future’ ANNE SEBBA
‘Urgent, alive, propulsive. I adored it’ MARINA BENJAMIN

Publisher Review

Easily my non-fiction book of the year — RUKMINI IYER, author of The Roasting Tin A profound meditation on loss and the importance of language as a means of remembering… Thoroughly recommended — ANNE SEBBA, author of The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz A beautiful tale of painful cultural loss, delicious food, rich history; and the bittersweet grief that only the perfect recipe can solve. A truly enlightening book that will leave you hungry yet satisfied — CARIAD LLOYD, author of You Are Not Alone A wonderfully immersive and sensitive meditation on belonging and identity — VIV GROSKOP, author of How to Own the Room A book about loss written with pure, irrepressible joy — MARINA BENJAMIN, author of Last Days of Babylon Chopping Onions on My Heart is quite simply wonderful – a lyrical meditation that sparkles with life and joy. Such an elegant study of identity, loss, and hope, and so beautifully written — FRANCESCA SEGAL Utterly absorbing… every page sparkles with anecdotes, facts, adventures and asides — BIDISHA Beautiful and vibrant, funny and engrossing, this book is full of insights, passion and fascinating twists — RACHEL SHABI, author of Off White I devoured this touching, vivid, joyous account of both belonging and not belonging — AMANDA CRAIG, author of The Three Graces I loved this funny, moving memoir — EMMA FORREST