"[F]or many people, the most significant (and often the most knotty) inheritance lies in our family’s #culture and #history.
#British #playwright and #journalist Samantha Ellis’ “Always Carry Salt,” set for release on Jan. 6, is an endearing #memoir about struggling to come to terms with a particularly complicated #heritage.
Ellis was born in #England in 1975 to #Jewish #refugees from #Iraq. Her father had been airlifted to #Israel as a boy in 1951 and eventually settled in #London, where he met Ellis’ mother, who had departed #Baghdad in 1971.
As a child, Ellis grew up amid stories, traditional foods and the colorful #Judeo-#Iraqi #Arabic language in which her parents and their families conducted their private lives. However, upon becoming a mother, she realized with deep sadness that she was unequipped to pass this rich legacy to her son."
https://jweekly.com/2025/12/17/in-new-memoir-yearning-for-an-iraqi-jewish-culture-just-out-of-reach/