Our Cut of Salt: Deena Helm in conversation with Trang Thanh Tran

This event takes place in person at Charis and on Crowdcast, Charis’ virtual event platform. This event is free, but registration is required for virtual attendance. Click here to register to attend virtually – https://www.crowdcast.io/c/our-cut-of-salt
Charis welcomes Deena Helm in conversation with Trang Thanh Tran in celebration of Our Cut of Salt, a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.
There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.
And, in return, the house did the same for her.
After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina’s mother, Haifa – named for the city that was lost to their family – reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.
But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.
As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all.
About the Author
DEENA HELM is a mixed Palestinian-American author, and Our Cut of Salt is her debut novel. Her other works can be found in Fikra Magazine and So To Speak. She asks that you, the reader, do everything in your power to resist genocide and deepen your commitment to liberation for all.
About the Conversation Partner
Trang Thanh Tran is a New York Times and Indie bestselling author based in Atlanta. Their debut She Is a Haunting was a William C. Morris YA Debut Award finalist and won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a YA Novel. Their second book They Bloom at Night was winner of the Indies Choice Book Award for YA and nominated for a Lodestar Award and Locus Award. They adore all things strange and, of course, their geriatric cats. Find them on Instagram @nvtran_ and their website trangthanhtran.com.
The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate on Crowdcast or via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person at the event.
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In-person event guidelines:
– All attendees must wear a face mask during the event.
– We will begin seating people at 7:00 PM ET.
– This event will be live-streamed via Crowdcast. Register to attend virtually – https://www.crowdcast.io/c/our-cut-of-salt
– As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event.
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