{"product_id":"always-carry-salt-a-memoir-of-preserving-language-and-culture-9798897100286","title":"Always Carry Salt: A Memoir of Preserving Language and Culture","description":"\u003cb\u003eA life-affirming memoir about resilience, language, and the healing power of our ancestor's music, stories, and recipes.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSamantha's mother tongue is dying out. 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The realization 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\" or reminding him to \"always carry salt\" opens the floodgates. The questions keep coming. How can she pass on this heritage without passing on the trauma of displacement? Will her son ever love mango pickle? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlways Carry Salt \u003c\/i\u003eis an immersive and moving meditation on the words and traditions that shape us and what we carry forward into future generations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Samantha Ellis\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pegasus Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/06\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.14h x 6.23w x 2.21d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798897100286\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/06\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2025 pg. 75\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/18\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe daughter of Iraqi-Jewish refugees, \u003cb\u003e Samantha Ellis\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eHow to be a Heroine\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTake Courage\u003c\/i\u003e. Her plays include\u003ci\u003e How to Date a Feminist, Cling to me Like Ivy \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eOperation Magic Carpet. \u003c\/i\u003eHer journalism has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, the\u003ci\u003eTLS, \u003c\/i\u003e the \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review \u003c\/i\u003eand more. She worked on the first two Paddington films. She lives in London, where \u003ci\u003eAlways Carry Salt \u003c\/i\u003ewas published under the title \u003ci\u003eChopping Onions on My Heart.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Samantha Ellis \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47566619836573,"sku":"9798897100286","price":49.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_68188095-e0ee-4088-8f2c-028c156d0250.jpg?v=1768313470","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/always-carry-salt-a-memoir-of-preserving-language-and-culture-9798897100286","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}