The Tears of Olive Trees is a multi-generational non-fiction memoir of a Palestinian family's heroic struggle against poverty, violence and oppression. In the 1948 Nakba, the Zionists stole the AlShaikh family's home and lands and exiled them to a refugee camp in Gaza. Rather than to respond to evil with evil, this incredible, heroic family struggled in peace against all odds to give their children a better life. The Tears of Olive Trees dares to tell the truth about what really happened to the Palestinian people through the experiences of a man who lived through the events of the past fifty years first as a refugee and later as a physician and humanitarian who immigrated to the West.
A rabbi and expert in traditional Judaic cooking offers a wide-ranging celebration of classic Jewish vegetarian cooking from across the globe. Traditions of Jewish vegetarian cooking span three millennia and the extraordinary breadth of the Jewish diaspora—from Persia to Ethiopia, Romania to France. In Olive Trees and Honey, acclaimed chef and rabbi Gil Marks uncovers this vibrant culinary heritage for home cooks. This magnificent treasury sheds light on the truly international palette of Jewish vegetarian cooking, with 300 recipes for soups, salads, grains, pastas, legumes, vegetable stews, egg dishes, savory pastries, and more. From Sephardic Bean Stew (Hamin) to Ashkenazic Mushroom Knishes, Italian Fried Artichokes to Hungarian Asparagus Soup, these dishes are suitable for any occasion on the Jewish calendar—whether it’s a festival or an everyday meal. Marks combines these recipes with fascinating insights into their origins and history, suggestions for holiday menus from Yom Kippur to Passover, and culture-rich discussion of key ingredients.
An extraordinary new voice in contemporary woman’s fiction, Courtney Miller Santo makes her magnificent debut with The Roots of the Olive Tree, a novel that will delight fans of Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and the works of Kristin Hannah. Set in a house on an olive grove in northern California, The Roots of the Olive Tree is a beautiful, touching story that brings to life five generations of women—including an unforgettable 112-year-old matriarch determined to break all Guinness longevity records—the secrets and lies that divide them and the love that ultimately ties them together.
Twentyone Olive Trees: A Mother's Walk through the Grief of Suicide to Hope and Healing, is the author's personal journey of transformation following her son Blaise's suicide. The book traces her path from grief to understanding and healing, shown through a collection of twenty-one fables and poems she wrote to Blaise in the year after his untimely death. This book explores Laura's message that it is in in your power to overcome personal difficulties no matter what, by creating something beautiful in the wake of whatever has befallen you- death, divorce, disease, destruction from natural and man-made disasters, or other upheavals. The terrible times you suffer are not the end of life but can become a new beginning. It is Laura's hope that these stories will act as a balm for those going through their grief and dark moments, encourage them to embrace their new beginnings, as well as inspire empaths and highly sensitive people to bring about the changes that our society is so strongly in need of. Book jacket.
A witty and warm-hearted memoir of abandoning fast-paced American days in favor of discovering the Italian secrets of food, community, and life. Moving across the globe meant Michelle Damiani soon found herself untangling Italian customs, delighting in glorious regional cuisine (recipes included), and creating lasting friendships. From grandmothers eager to teach the ancient art of pasta making, to bakers tossing bread into fiery ovens with a song, to butchers extolling the benefits of pork fat, Il Bel Centro is rich with captivating characters and cultural insights. Throw in clinking glasses of Umbrian red with the local communists and a village all-nighter decorating the cobblestone streets with flower petals; as well as embarrassing language minefields and a serious summons to the mayor’s office, and you have all the ingredients for a spellbinding travel tale. Exquisitely observed, Il Bel Centro is an intimate celebration of small town Italy, as well as a thoughtful look at raising a family in a new culture and a fascinating story of finding a home. Ultimately though, this is a story about how travel can change you when you’re ready to let it. With laugh-out-loud situations and wanderlust-inspiring storytelling, Il Bel Centro is a joyous and life-affirming read that will have readers rushing to renew their passports. “This is one of the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.” “I absolutely couldn’t get enough of this book.” “This book made me want to pack my bags.” “I loved, loved this book. Fabulously written, engaging, and entertaining.” “A magical read.”
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction "A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times." -David Mitchell, author of Utopia Avenue A rich, magical new novel on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he's searching for lost love. Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited--- her only connection to her family's troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world. A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak's best work yet.
A literary cookbook that celebrates food and poetry, two of life's essential ingredients. In the same way that salt seasons ingredients to bring out their flavors, poetry seasons our lives; when celebrated together, our everyday moments and meals are richer and more meaningful. The twenty-five inspiring poems in this book—from such poets as Marge Piercy, Louise Glück, Mark Strand, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Jane Hirshfield—are accompanied by seventy-five recipes that bring the richness of words to life in our kitchen, on our plate, and through our palate. Eat This Poem opens us up to fresh ways of accessing poetry and lends new meaning to the foods we cook.
The hilarious and endearing tale of how two American city boys learned to become olive farmers in New Zealand. In this delightful book, Jared describes the first four years of their new life in the country, its disasters and small triumphs, its surprises and pleasures. You will be charmed. "A heart-warming tale with many laughs and a few tears."
