Hello,
Assuming that identity is rooted in birthplace is outdated. We need to dig deeper now that dark forces of nationalism, fascism and intolerance are churning up whole new generations of displaced people.
When I moved to my parents’ homeland on a whim, I experienced extreme culture shock—priests at my door, food meltdowns, and trying to understand why no man would exit an elevator until I made the first move. I also uncovered the shocking story of my grandparents’ exodus from and return to 1940s Poland. Communist Catholics. Communist Jews. Afghanistan. Tashkent. Moscow and Sweden. How to make sense of a mash-up of family tales and history?
Part memoir, part cultural commentary, Your Roots Cast A Shadow, complete at 77,697 words, offers hope to those who have fled war zones for foreign lands and the children of immigrants who are haunted by the memories.
The book will appeal to readers who enjoyed the family sleuthing of Edmund de Waal’s The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, the honesty and lived experience of Raynor Wynn’s The Salt Path, and the cultural/historical analysis in Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning.
I am the author of the health and style blog, Style on the Side, which nets over 42,000 impressions a month. I’ve been sharing elements of this book on my social media, including Instagram (11k), X (11k), Pinterest (568k monthly views), Facebook (4500), mailing list (1,300); my network of bloggers gives me almost 600,000 impressions a month. My book Tell Me What You See (One Idea Press) serves as a toolkit for my popular writing workshops, and my articles have been featured in publications including British MODE, Huffington Post, and Jane Friedman’s blog. I am the co-founder of KW Writers Alliance and Mountain Ash Press.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best,
Caroline