Book Club questions for Always Carry Salt / Chopping Onions on my Heart

1. How does Samantha’s relationship with her culture and heritage evolve over the course of the book? Have you had a similar journey with yours?

2. Language loss is a key theme of the book. Do you think endangered languages should be saved and spoken, and if so, why?

3. Food becomes a key part of how Samantha preserves and passes on her heritage. What foods in the book do you most want to try, if you haven’t already? And which family recipe would you pass on?

4. Samantha writes about how music helps her connect to her Iraqi Jewish heritage. Listen to this piece by Iraqi Jewish singer Salima Murad; how does it make you feel? What music would you pass on?

5. Samantha writes about trying to pass on the stories of her family’s persecution and exile without passing on the trauma. Do you think this is possible?

6. As well as deciding what to preserve or keep of her culture, and remembering what is lost, Samantha also has to decide what to let go of, something she initially finds quite difficult. What emotional reaction do you have to this and what would you let go of from your own cultural legacy?

7. What did you think of the depiction of mothering in the book?

8. What do you think about the ending where Samantha tries to feel freer to improvise and experiment and adventure with her heritage, to play with recipes (and even embrace fusion food), to bellydance badly, to connect to her culture in her own way? Did you want her to cling more tightly to authenticity or did this freedom feel right?

I’m always happy to support book clubs, so do contact me via the contact form if you’d like to discuss.